Chairman William Isaac has authored hundreds of articles and has frequently testified before Congress. His insights on the U.S. financial system have been featured in leading news outlets.
Select recent articles and news releases by our firm are featured here.
May 4, 2023
Today’s banking crisis has now seen the failure of banks with combined assets approaching half a trillion dollars. With the latest failure of First Republic Bank following the closure and earlier failures of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank and the winddown of Silvergate Bank through self-liquidation, the list now includes three of the four largest bank failures in US history. Banks should anticipate a new era of tougher bank regulatory oversight, examinations, regulatory frameworks and stress testing.
These bank failures were largely unexpected and the traditional red flags of rapid growth coupled with lagging risk management processes were not spotted, or at least not sufficiently followed up with robust regulatory reviews and action.
April 28, 2023
This week, the Federal Reserve announced plans to propose stronger rules governing the consequences for failing to manage and oversee liquidity and capital requirements. These rule changes will affect the funding strategies of all midsize to large banks (over $100 billion). There is also special emphasis on banks with significant uninsured funding. Along with formal rulemaking, we anticipate intense regulatory inquiries in this area and ongoing requests for information as part of the supervisory process. Regulators will be seeking a better understanding of funding structures, off-balance sheet commitments, liquidity contingency planning, stress testing, and interest rate risk management.
The failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank point to the need for stronger governance, risk controls and measurements, stress testing, management reporting, and Board oversight.
Published by the American Banker
December 1, 2021
A vital cog of the United States’ financial system is at risk. For 89 years, the Federal Home Loan Bank System has been a reliable source of liquidity for most of the nation’s banks, credit unions and insurance companies. Without meaningful change, this remarkable public-private partnership is nearing the end of its relevance.
Created in 1932 during the waning days of the Hoover administration, this intricate structure of 11 – 12 at the time – banks scattered across the U.S. has been a bulwark of our financial system. Member-owned but federally supported, these 11 banks have provided backup liquidity to their members through secured advances. The system is able to fund itself through debt obligations it issues that carry reduced risk premiums due to the implied guarantee of the federal government.
Published by the American Banker
July 15, 2021
The next financial crisis is on its way.
Over the last two centuries, the United States has averaged a financial panic every twenty years, the second-highest incidence of economic disaster of any country on the planet.
Sure, many expect a post-COVID period of accelerated financial growth. Financial ups and downs are a natural part of any economy. But what we have been doing over the last half century is creating an endless continuum of booms and bigger and bigger busts that is increasingly difficult to break.
Published by the American Banker
September 5, 2020
“Everyone is convinced that accounting standards are simply too boring and too intricate for anyone to pay attention to.”
Those were the opening remarks of Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., during a House Financial Services subcommittee hearing earlier this year with accounting standards officials. Sherman, a CPA and the chairman of the subcommittee, is absolutely right. To most Americans, accounting is boring and appears too menial to spend time reviewing.
However, when looking at the astonishing impacts accounting standards have on the U.S. and world economy, everyone would be well served to resist glazing over the rules, and pay close attention to what’s brewing in Norwalk, Conn., where the Financial Accounting Standards Board is headquartered.
Published by the American Banker
June 12, 2020
The latest Financial Accounting Standards Board debacle may finally cause the government to step in and end its monopoly power to dictate accounting standards on banks and financial regulators.
The most recent step in that direction was a June 4 letter from a bipartisan group of four U.S. senators to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, in his role as chairman of the Financial Stability Oversight Council.
The letter requests that the oversight council conduct a study on lending and the economic consequences of FASB’s new requirement that insured depository institutions adopt (a senseless) form of mark-to-market accounting rules called the current expected credit losses, or CECL.
Published by the American Banker
April 24, 2020
The Financial Accounting Standards Board is at it again.
The counterproductive and harmful mark-to-market accounting rules imposed by FASB led to the near collapse of the global economy during the financial crisis, and to the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program.
Now, FASB wants to require banks to adopt another form of mark-to-market accounting rules known as the Current Expected Credit Losses standard, or CECL.
CECL requires banks to estimate their credit losses over the life the loans, and book the losses upfront. Thus, a bank that makes 30-year mortgage loans would have to estimate and book its losses on that portfolio on day one.
Expert team to help financial services sector address challenges caused by global pandemic, cybercrime and shifting regulatory landscape
NEW YORK/WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 13, 2022) — William M. Isaac, former FDIC and Fifth Third Bancorp Chairman, today announced the formation of Secura/Isaac, a global advisory firm. The firm specializes in helping clients navigate the regulatory landscape which has become exponentially more complex with the unprecedented challenges caused by rapid and enormous advances in technology, increasingly complex regulatory requirements, cybercrime, and a global pandemic. Mr. Isaac has assembled an expert team that is highly respected globally by financial institutions, regulatory authorities and central banks.
Blue SaaS Solutions, an IBM business partner, appoints tech executive Phil Pillsbury as Chief Revenue Officer
NEW YORK/WASHINGTON, D.C. (February 10, 2022) — Secura/Isaac Group (Secura/Isaac), a global advisory firm serving financial institutions, FinTech firms, central banks, regulatory agencies, and governments, today announced its investment in Blue SaaS Solutions, an IBM business partner focused on helping financial services organizations select and procure technology solutions.
Through its IBM partnership, Blue SaaS Solutions combines IBM’s portfolio of products and services with its own best-in-breed technologies to offer solutions to the challenges facing financial services organizations today.
Global advisory firm adds renowned banker and attorney and establishes West Coast presence;Rothenberg is founder and Chairman of 1st Century Bank and former President of the U.S. Soccer Federation
LOS ANGELES (November 7, 2022) – Secura/Isaac Group (SIG), the preeminent global advisory firm serving financial institutions, is pleased to announce that Alan Rothenberg, founder and Chairman of 1st Century Bank, now a division of MidFirst Bank, will join the firm as Senior Executive Advisor. Mr. Rothenberg brings nearly 60 years of professional experience spanning the worlds of banking, law, sports, and community involvement.
Mr. Rothenberg’s considerable experience will bolster the firm’s ability to offer comprehensive guidance to help organizations navigate today’s rapidly changing regulatory landscape.
