Speeches & Testimony

Monetary Policy is More than Interest Rates:
The Strategic Impact of Federal Reserve Reform
Karen Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Remarks Prepared for the Conference of Counsel
Washington, D.C.
September 18, 2025

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The Dollar, the Sort-Of Dollar, and the End of the Power of Exorbitant Privilege:
What Stablecoins Mean for Reserve-Currency Status
Karen Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Remarks Prepared for the National Security Forum
Cosmos Club
Washington, D.C.
August 12, 2025

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The New Federal-Policy Paradigm:
Competitors, Opportunities, and Risks
Karen Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Remarks Prepared for the NOLHGA 33rd Legal Seminar
Washington, D.C.
July 24, 2025

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U.S. Bank Supervision:
How to Make It Both Good and Just
Karen Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Prepared for the Peterson Institute for International Economics
Washington, D.C.
July 24, 2024

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The What Keeps Me Up Department:
Trump II and Global Systemic Risk
Karen Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Prepared for Annual ACTUS Conference
Washington, D.C.
May 15, 2024

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Horizontal Bank Mergers:
Critical Industry Infrastructure in Harm’s Way
Karen Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Prepared for Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City
April 2, 2024

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Money is Power:
The National-Security Impact of U.S. Financial Policy
Karen Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Prepared for the  National Security Seminar, Cosmos Club
Washington, D.C.
December 12, 2023

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Beating Something with Something:
Reflections on Regulatory Advocacy in Challenging Times
Karen Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Prepared for Conference of Counsel
Washington, D.C.
October 5, 2023

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Banking Without Bank:
Regulatory Arbitrage and What to Do About It
Karen Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Prepared for the Financial Services Forum Summit
Washington, D.C.
September 26, 2023

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A Holistic Review of Regulators:
Regulatory Overreach and Economic Consequences
Karen Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Prepared for the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy
September 19, 2023

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To Know It is to See It:
Data Aggregation and Systemic Stability
Karen Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Prepared for the ACTUS 2023 Conference
Washington, D.C.
June 28, 2023

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Rising Rates, Failing Banks, and Rigorous Rules:
The future of Mortgage Finance in the New Policy Paradigm
Karen Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Prepared for Mortgage Bankers Association-Chairman’s Conference
Palm Beach, Florida
June 5, 2023

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Midterm Surprises and Financial Policy Certainty:
The Prospects for Substantive Action on Critical Questions
Karen Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Prepared for the American Banker Conference
Washington, D.C.
November 16, 2022

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Big-Bank Market Power:
Myth, Reality, and the Way Forward
Karen Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Prepared for the Conference of Counsel
Washington, D.C.
October 13, 2022

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Inflation, Inequality, and the Inexcusable:
Fixing the U.S. Economy and Its Discontent
Karen Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Remarks Prepared for Patriotic Millionaires
July 13, 2022

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The Path to Equitable Housing Finance:
U.S. Lessons for the Global Market
Karen Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Remarks Prepared for the Urban Land Institute
Brussels, Belgium
May 12, 2022

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Inflation, Inequality, and the Problem This Time:
Monetary Policy and Its Discontent
Karen Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Remarks Prepared for the Institute of International Economic Policy
George Washington University
Washington, D.C.
January 26, 2022

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A Central-Bank Mandate for Our Time:
The Fed’s De Facto Fiscal Role and Its Anti-Equality Impact
Karen Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Prepared for the 39th Annual Monetary Conference: Populism and the Fed, Cato Institute
Washington, D.C.
November 18, 2021
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Rip, Release, Regret?
The Potential and Perils of Financial Innovation
Karen Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Prepared for American Bar Association Banking Law Committee
Washington, D.C.
January 17, 2020
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The Rude Awakening:
Libra’s Revelations and Financial-System Transformation
Karen Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Prepared for Women in Housing and Finance
Washington, D.C.
December 4, 2019
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Caught in the Cross-Fire:
Foreign Banks, Geopolitical Risk, and What Comes Next
Karen Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Prepared for the Institute of International Bankers
New York, New York
October 17, 2019
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Purpose and Profit:
Reconsidering the American Banking Construct to Enhance Economic Equality
Karen Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Prepared for American Bankers Association Securities Association
Washington, D.C.
October 16, 2019
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Disintermediation, Disintegration, and Innovation:
The Future of Finance Controlled by Big Tech and Giant Central Banks
Karen Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Prepared for the Conference of Counsel
Washington, D.C.
October 3, 2019
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Agility versus History:
The Strategic Conflict at the Heart of Big-Tech Finance
Karen Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Prepared for The Milken Institute FinTech Policy Symposium
Washington, D.C.
July 10, 2019
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Brave New World That Hath Such Risks in It:
Giant Tech Firms and Systemic Danger
Karen Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Prepared for The Professional Risk Managers International Association
2018 Financial Services Regulatory Forum
Washington, D.C.
November 28, 2018
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The Inequality Under-Belly of “Sound” Consumer Finance
Karen Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Prepared for The Clearing House and Bank Policy Institute’s 2018 Annual Conference
New York, New York
November 27, 2018
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When Financial Intermediation Turns into Data Intermediation:
New Risks and the Need for New Policies
Karen Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Prepared for Online Lending Policy Summit
Washington, D.C.
October 9, 2018
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Bank Regulation, Monetary Policy, and Economic Inequality:
A Lethal Combination and a Cure
Karen Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Prepared for Conference of Counsel
Washington, D.C.
September 27, 2018
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Network Analytics from Hell:
The Chaos of Post-Crisis Regulation
Karen Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Prepared for Professional Risk Managers’ International Association
Washington, D.C.
May 22, 2018
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Data and the Bank:
Financial Resilience in a Digital Age
Karen Shaw Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Prepared for Duke in D.C. Financial Regulation Forum
Washington, D.C.
March 27, 2018
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The Inexorable Will of the Financial Market:
Profit Imperatives and Financial-Policy Design
Karen Shaw Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Prepared for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York
New York, New York…

The Road to Intermediation is Paved with Ruins:
Equifax and the End of Banking as We Know It
Karen Shaw Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Prepared for the Conference of Counsel
Washington, D.C.
October 5, 2017
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The Day the Banks Stood Still:
Financial-Stability Risks from Beyond
Karen Shaw Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Prepared for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
Washington, D.C.
October 3, 2017
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A Central Bank on the Brink:
The Future of the Federal Reserve in the Trump Administration
Karen Shaw Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Prepared for Chicago Financial Forum
Chicago, Illinois
September 14, 2017
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Capturing Advantage Despite Uncertainty:
U.S. Financial Policy under the Trump Administration
Karen Shaw Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Prepared for Treliant Risk Advisors, LLC
Washington, D.C.
June 28, 2017
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The Regulatory-Credibility Gap:
Why U.S. Rules are set for a Redo in Congress and the Courts
Karen Shaw Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Prepared for Banking Law Committee – New York City Bar Association
New York, New York
May 4, 2017
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Finding Financial Footing in the New Framework:
Critical Issues for Endowments and Foundations
Karen Shaw Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Prepared for The Regulatory Fundamentals Group LLC
Washington, D.C.
April 6, 2017
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Income Inequality:
The Battlefield Casualty of Post-Crisis Financial Policy
Karen Shaw Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Prepared for Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago/European Central Bank Nineteenth Annual International Banking Conference
Chicago, Illinois
November 3, 2016
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Just When You Thought It was Safe to Go Back into the Water:
The 2017 Policy Outlook
Karen Shaw Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Prepared for Conference of Counsel
Washington, D.C.
October 6, 2016
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Assessing the Bank M&A Landscape:
2017 Policy Drivers and What to Do About Them
Karen Shaw Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Prepared for the 8^th Annual SNL Bank M&A Symposium
Washington, D.C.
September 23, 2016
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Global Challenges to Insurance Regulation and Resolution
Karen Shaw Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Prepared for the National Organization of Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Associations
Washington, D.C.
July 21, 2016
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