Carl Tannenbaum is the Chief Economist for LaSalle Bank in Chicago. In this capacity, he provides internal and external briefings on business conditions and publishes weekly, monthly, and quarterly commentary for distribution to the bank's customers. He serves as a quote contact for a number of publications and provides commentary on business issues for CNBC, CNN, and other media outlets. In addition to his economic duties, he is also responsible for measuring the organization’s interest rate risk and monitoring its investment portfolio. Mr. Tannenbaum has been with La Salle for twenty-four years. He was President of the National Association for Business Economics for 2006-2007 and a member of the Blue Chip panel of economic forecasters. He holds a B.A. in finance and economics and an M.B.A., both from the University of Chicago.
To some, the tumultuous events in the credit markets in the summer of 2007 came on suddenly and without context. While the extent and magnitude of the dislocations were certainly unexpected, the author argues that the groundwork for such events was gradually formed over the past generation by evolution within the financial services industry. The resulting new architecture of this industry has much to recommend it, but it may present a new type of systemic risk that will challenge policy makers.
Presidential Address presented at the NABE 49th Annual Meeting on September 10, 2007 in San Francisco, California.
By Carl R. Tannenbaum