Undue Influence

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A critical look at over 80 years of conflict, collusion, andcorruption between financiers and politicians Undue Influence paints a vivid portrait of the dealings between"the few", in this case members of Congress, the banking community,and the Fed, and sheds light on how radical new deregulatorymeasures could be introduced by unelected officials and thenfoisted upon Congress in the name of progress. In the process, thebackground of the new financial elite is examined-because they aremarkedly different than their predecessors of the 1920s and 1930s.Undue Influence also brings readers up to speed on other importantissues, including how the financial elite has been able toperpetuate itself, how the markets lend themselves to these specialinterest groups, and how it is possible that after 80 years offinancial regulation and regulatory bodies the same problems offinancial malfeasance and fraud still plague the markets. Charles R. Geisst (Oradell, NJ) is the author of 15 books,including Wheels of Fortune (0-471-47973-X), Deals of the Century(0-471-26397-4) and the bestsellers Wall Street: A History and 100Years of Wall Street. Geisst has taught both political science andfinance, worked in banking and finance on Wall Street and inLondon, as well as consulted. His articles have been published inthe International Herald Tribune, Neue Zurcher Zeitung, Newsday,Wall Street Journal, and Euromoney.

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Charles R. Geisst

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"...incisive explanation of various consiracy theories"(Gulf Business, May 2005) The Glass-Steagall Act, separating commercial banks frominvestment banks, was passed in 1933 to prevent banks from riskingdepositors' funds on the still-shaky stock market. It wasrepealed in 1999, when gambling other people's money on thestock market was considered the height of financial probity. Inthis engaging history of Glass-Steagall, Geisst (Wall Street: AHistory) surveys the 70 years leading to this ideological seachange, as the widespread Depression-era populist suspicion of WallStreet subsided, to be replaced with the pro-business dogma of theReagan era and the New Economy bubble. Formal repeal, Geisst shows,was preceded by decades during which big commercial banks, hungryfor a slice of the lucrative investment banking business,increasingly flouted Glass-Steagall restrictions with theconnivance of ideologically sympathetic Federal Reserve regulators.The vast sums banks have spent on lobbying and campaigncontributions, and the cushy Wall Street jobs awaiting governmentofficials who switch sides, make Geisst wonder whether "thegamekeepers and the poachers had all joined the same club." Geisstprovides a lucid guide to the financial issues involved and acolorful account of decades-long political debates and legislativewranglings, while raising troubling questions about the directionof public policy. (Dec.) (Publishers Weekly, November15, 2004)
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