Tonight I am appearing on a Boston TV program to discuss whether there are other Madoff disasters lurking as well as eight lessons from 2008. The first half of the program will feature Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) who chairs the House Financial Services Committee.

The TV producer suggested that I should give Congressman Frank some thoughts about how to fix the financial services industry if I get a chance to talk with him in the green room before the show starts. I am not sure whether I will get to do this or not; however, here are four ideas I will share if I get the chance:

• Limit leverage. Starting with an SEC ruling in 2004, banks could borrow as much as they wanted -- in some cases over $30 for every $1 of equity. This borrowing has endangered the global financial system. Washington should limit leverage to 8:1 or less.
• Put banker pay in escrow. As I posted, banks should not pay bankers to close big deals and then let them keep the bonuses after the deals fall apart. Instead, they should do what Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is starting to do, which is to put the bonuses in an escrow account -- if the deals lose money in the years following the contract signing, the money goes to pay off the investors. Otherwise, they get to keep the money.

Continue reading Memo to Barney Frank: Four steps to fix finance

Memo to Barney Frank: Four steps to fix finance originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.