Undue Influence: How the Wall Street Elite Puts the Financial System at Risk - 2004 - 1st Edition

The financial system of the United States is far from perfect, and over the years, politicians and financial professionals have engaged in fierce debates as to how the system should be run and regulated--if at all.

Undue Influence paints a vivid portrait of this longstanding battle by taking an in-depth look at the individuals and events that have shaped our financial system--for better or for worse--over the last eighty-five years. Beginning with the rise of the Wall Street elite in the early twentieth century, business historian and bestselling author Charles Geisst takes you on a fascinating journey that mixes money, power, and politics like never before.

Decade by decade, you'll be introduced to the financial institutions and individuals who've fought for an environment that suits their specific needs. You'll also become familiar with the political institutions and individuals who've attempted to balance the financial safety of trusting Americans with the ambitions of the financial elite.

You'll be there to watch how laws passed in the early part of the twentieth century--the Glass-Steagall Act and the Securities Act of 1933--created a safety net to protect America's financial system against undue influence by Wall Street and its constituents. You'll also learn how advances in financial innovation, along with the determination of some to ignore the law, created a situation where existing regulations proved too general in the face of an onslaught of new financial products. Spanning the decades, Geisst skillfully reveals how during the bull market of the 1920s, investment banks such as J.P. Morgan offered new issues of stock to preferred customers and friends at a favorable price, and how during the bull run of the late 1990s, financial institutions such as Citicorp took advantage of loopholes in certain laws to expand their operations beyond the existing legal limits.

With a historical perspective that only Geisst could provide, Undue Influence moves swiftly through the world of finance and investment--from the New Deal to the New Economy--to recount the power plays and political pressures that have shaped our financial world. Filled with in-depth insights and practical lessons, Undue Influence explains why, in the brave new world of financial services, the risks may be greater than ever before.