Review of High Rollers: Inside the Savings and Loan Debacle (Hardcover)

This book rather rigoursly breaks down how the S&L crisis occured. It also breaks down some rather technical points and tries to present them in a manner understandable for the reader. I would admit that it may come across as a little dry and detailed for some. On the other hand, those familiar with the technical aspects of the lending and financing topics may find that same material a bit remedial. I do think that this is the best book I have read that addresses the crisis from a policy perspective. It starts with the foundation of the S&L industry and the policies put in place (and in some cases the lack thereof) that lead to its crippling collapse. It does an excellent job of detailing blame/cause but also suggests inevitability at the same time. The author does present, at various stages of the crisis, what-ifs? This presentation was done well as it was 'salted' with the feasibility of implementing these what-ifs at the time.

The author has a gift of constantly putting the various topics and issues into their proper perspective. As an example, the author noted that the outright fraud committed by institutions prior to insolvency was comparatively small compared to the overall number of institutions that were failing and ultimately did fail. I would strongly urge all of those in the policy and regulatory aspect of the financial services industry (even those outside of banking and lending) to read this book as a good primer on causes of financial crises and policy (and political) steps that can exacerbate rather than resolve a situation. As the author points out repeatedly (and with well supported and sounded arguments), the crisis may not have been avoided altogether, however it could have been minimized substantially. Unfortunately, because of lack of political will, lack of technical understanding and a fundamental failure to truly appreciate human nature, the outcome was not inevitable, but doubtless.

I would argue this is a must-read for congressional staffers, policy makers, regulators and any law enforcement agencies whose work involves them in the financial services sector as well as those in middle to upper level management of financial services companies.



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