How Should Regulators Respond to Financial Innovation?

The subject of this panel is "Financial Markets and Growth." There is now quite a substantial literature devoted to understanding how improvements in the effectiveness of the financial sector can and do contribute to growth and economic well-being in developing countries. My focus will be on the innovations in financial markets and practices that have been particularly striking in the United States over the last couple of decades, and the key benefits of those innovations. We've seen tremendous changes in financial arrangements in recent years, particularly with regard to the ways in which financial markets allocate risk; derivative markets have made risks increasingly divisible and tradable, and consumers have seen vastly expanded opportunities in credit markets. I believe these changes have produced noteworthy economic benefits. Many observers, however, acknowledge the benefits but believe the recent wave of financial innovation also has contributed to increasing financial fragility. The proliferation of new instruments seems to have made it easier for someone to accumulate large risk exposures and harder for counterparties to evaluate them.