Speeches & Testimony

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

Read remarks

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

Read remarks

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

Read remarks

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

Read remarks

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

Read remarks

 …

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
Read remarks…

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
Read Remarks
…

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
Read Remarks

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
Read Remarks

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
Read Remarks

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
Read Remarks

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
Read Remarks…

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
Read Remarks

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
Read Remarks

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
Read Remarks

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
Read Speech

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
Read Speech

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
Read Remarks

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
Read Speech

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
Read Speech

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
Read Speech

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
Read Speech

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
Read Speech

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
Read Speech

…

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
Read Speech

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
Read Speech

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
Read Speech

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
Read
…

The Next Financial Crisis:
How Good Rules Go Bad
Karen Shaw Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Prepared for the Federalist Society 2015 National Lawyers Convention
Washington, D.C.
November 13, 2015
Read Speech

Insurance in the Systemic Cross-Hairs:
Workable, Realistic Regulation and Resolution for the New Age
Karen Shaw Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Prepared for the National Organization of Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Associations 2015 Annual Meeting
Baltimore, Maryland
October 28, 2015
Read Speech

Money Makes Markets, Not Rules:
The Collision of Monetary Policy, Macroeconomic Risk, and Financial Services
Karen Shaw Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Prepared for the Conference of Counsel
Washington, D. C.
October 8, 2015
Read Speech

Policy Drivers: Charting the New Course for U.S. Insurance Companies
Karen Shaw Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Prepared for the NFI 11^th Annual Insurance Public Policy Summit
Washington, D. C.
March 17, 2015
Read Speech

Other People’s Money: How Asset Management Poses Systemic Risk and What to Do About It
Karen Shaw Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Prepared for the Conference on Financial Stability and Asset Management
Boston University Center for Finance, Law and Policy
Investment Company Institute
Boston, Massachusetts
March 11, 2015
Read Speech

Hard to Do, But Worth the Effort: How FBOs Can Still Do Well In the U.S.
Karen Shaw Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Presented to the Institute of International Bankers
Washington, D. C.
March 2, 2015
Read Speech…

Eye-Bonds: A new Vision for Federal Support of Biomedical Research
Karen Shaw Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Prepared for CanceRX 2014
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, Massachusetts
October 28, 2014
Read Speech

The Future of Corporate Finance at Commercial Banks and Why It Matters
Karen Shaw Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Prepared for the Loan Syndications and Trading Association
19^th Annual Conference
New York, New York
October 23, 2014
Read Speech

A Unified Field Theory of Banking
Karen Shaw Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Prepared for the Conference of Counsel
Washington, D. C.
October 9, 2014
Read Speech

The Systemic Richter Scale:
What Could Topple the Towers of Global Finance
Karen Shaw Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Prepared for the American Banker Regulatory Symposium
Arlington, Virginia
September 22, 2014
Read Speech

Is U.S. Banking the Next U.S. Steel?
Prospects for National Banks as the Shadows Lengthen
Karen Shaw Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Prepared for Building on 150 Years: The Future of National Banking, Sponsored by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Boston University Center for Finance, Law and Policy
Boston, Massachusetts
March 31, 2014
Watch: http://www.c-span.org/video/?318607-6/future-community-banking
Read Speech
 

Banking in the U.S. for Profit Even If It’s Not Fun Anymore:
The New Strategic Landscape for Foreign Banks
Karen Shaw Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Prepared for the Institute of International Bankers
Washington, D. C.
March 3, 2014
Read Speech

…

Accounting for Change:
Critical Challenges for Effective Regulation
Karen Shaw Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Prepared for the Seventh Annual FDIC Accounting and Auditing Conference
Arlington, Virginia
October 22, 2013
Read Speech

Strategic Planning at the Crossroads:
The Future of Systemic Regulation in the Wake of the Fiscal Crisis,
Yellen Confirmation, Market Fragility
Karen Shaw Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Prepared for the Conference of Counsel
Washington, D.C.
October 10, 2013
Read Presentation

The How-To of What-If:
Counting the Capital Cost of the New Regulatory Landscape
Karen Shaw Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Prepared for the Regulatory Symposium
American Banker
Crystal City, Virginia
September 24, 2013
Read Speech

Settling the Systemic Score:
Or, How to Plan for New Rules without Knowing What They Are
Karen Shaw Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Prepared for the American Bar Association
San Francisco, California
August 9, 2013
Read Remarks

“A Legislative Proposal to Protect American Taxpayers and Homeowners
by Creating a Sustainable Housing Finance System”
Basil N. Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Before the Committee on Financial Services
United States House of Representatives
Washington, D. C.
July 18, 2013
Read Testimony

Strategic Landscape:
Policy Challenges to Bank Capital-market Activities
Karen Shaw Petrou
Managing Partner
Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.
Presentation Prepared for the American Bar Association Securities Association
Washington, D.C.
June 19, 2013
Read Remarks

A Critical Missing Reform Criterion:
How Can We Regulate “Systemic” Banks When We Don’t Know Who They …