Why does the Federal Reserve attract so many conspiracy theorists and bashers That is one of the many research topics Peter Conti-Brown, a financial historian and legal scholar at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania like to study. He also researches central banking, financial regulation and public finance, with a particular focus on the history and policies of the U.S. Federal Reserve System. His most recent book is “The Power and Independence of the Federal Reserve.”
Perhaps the question of “What is money — and who gets to decide?” is why the Federal Reserve has been so scrutinized for its entire history.
During our conversation, Conti-Brown also discussed the turmoil at Wells Fargo (WFC), and the terrible incentive system that had predictably disastrous results. He is encouraged by the new Wells chairwoman, former Federal Reserve governor Elizabeth Duke. He notes this is likely an inflection point, and suggests that the board is very serious about both changing their corporate culture at WFC as part of their turnaround plan.
His favorite books are here, and our conversation transcript is posted here.
You can stream/download the full conversation, including the podcast extras on iTunes, Bloomberg, Overcast, and Stitcher. Our earlier podcasts can all be found at iTunes, Stitcher, Overcast, and Bloomberg.
Next week, we speak with Howard Marks, founder and chairman, Oaktree Capital, author of the new book Mastering the Market Cycle: Getting the Odds on Your Side.
