Duke Law event March 25 to explore nationalizing banks

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

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Durham, NC -- Experts from the top levels of banking and academia will gather Wednesday, March 25, at Duke University Law School to examine the implications of nationalizing financial institutions.

The discussion, which will examine nationalization’s impact on the banking industry, consumers, the role of regulators, and free enterprise, begins at 4:30 p.m. in the Law School’s Star Commons, located at the corner of Science Drive and Towerview Road on Duke’s West Campus. The event is free and open to the public and a reception will follow. Parking is available at the Bryan Center, also on West Campus.

The U.S. Treasury is injecting billions of dollars into the nation's banks and new restrictions are being imposed on banks receiving the money. As a result, many experts and politicians argue that nothing short of formal nationalization will resolve the financial crisis. 

“Indeed, one might ask whether nationalization of some kind has in fact already occurred in many cases, given the scale of government investment,” says Lawrence Baxter, a Duke Law professor who previously held senior positions at Wachovia Corp. “This will be one of the many questions discussed by the panel.” 

Panelists will include Robert K. Steel, the former president and CEO of Wachovia Corp., a member of the Wells Fargo Board of Directors and a Duke University trustee; Edward Greene, a partner at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton in New York and former investments general counsel of Citigroup; Duke University economist Craig Burnside; and Duke Law faculty members James Cox, a specialist in corporate and securities law; Steven A. Schwarcz, an expert in capital markets and systemic risk; and Bill Brown, who formerly held senior positions at AIG, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley.

“Have We Nationalized Our Banking System?” is the first of several public discussions being planned by the Law School that will focus on charting the emerging framework of public policy and regulation in the “post-crisis” economy. 

This March 25 event will be webcast live at http://www.law.duke.edu/webcast/.