George G. Kaufman

George G. Kaufman (6 March 1933 - 25 June 2020) was an American economist and professor. He was a consultant to the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and an economist who served Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter.

Kaufman’s principal focus was on financial markets, banking, banking regulation, and monetary policy. He made a particular impression in the field of ​​banking supervision and is considered to be one of the intellectual leaders in the reform of banking law at the beginning of the 1990s, which increased the capital requirements of US banks. His core topics include deposit insurance and bank insolvencies.

Known for bringing research theory and empirical findings to the policy debate, he introduced the principles of Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) toward failing financial institutions, and Least Cost Resolution of failed banks. Both concepts were incorporated into the FDIC Improvement Act of 1991.

Due to his research interests, Kaufman was called in as a consultant by a number of state institutions as well as private companies. He was a visiting scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland (1988), Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas (1989-90), Reserve Bank of Australia (1990), and Reserve Bank of New Zealand (2004). He also served on the board of TIAA-CREF, a Fortune 100 financial services organization.

Over his career, Kaufman testified before Congress and other governmental bodies 18 times and was often seen on C-Span. He had also worked with past Federal Reserve Chairs Paul Volcker, Alan Greenspan, and Ben Bernanke, as well as other financial regulatory leaders, in planning the Federal Reserve Centennial activities.

George Kaufman was born on March 6, 1933, in Germany. He and his family fled the Nazis in 1936 and relocated to The Netherlands. In 1940, the family was forced to flee again and they moved to the United States (in New York) on one of the last ships to take Jews out of The Netherlands.

Kaufman graduated from Stuyvesant High School, New York, in 1951. He then attended Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in 1954. The following year, he earned a Master of Arts degree from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.

After finishing his education, he served in the U.S. Navy from 1955 to 1957.

After being discharged from the service, he went to the University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, and received a Ph.D. in economics in 1962. His dissertation was titled Response of Commercial Banks to Federal Reserve Policy. While at the university, he earned a fellowship from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and joined its research staff in 1959.

Kaufman began his teaching career in the early 1970s. In the spring of 1970, he was a visiting professor at the University of Southern California. In 1971, be became the John B. Rogers Professor of Banking and Finance at the University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon. He was with the university until 1980; served as Director of Doctoral Program, College of Business Administration (1972-75), and Director, Center for Capital Market Research (1973-80). During that period, he was also a visiting professor at Stanford University (1975-76) and the University of California, Berkeley (1979); and a visiting scholar at Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco (1975-1976) and Federal Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Washington, D.C. (Jan-July 1978).

After leaving the University of Oregon, Kaufman became the professor of Finance and Economics at the Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, in 1981. There he worked at the Center for Financial and Policy Studies, of which he became director. He remained with the Loyola University until his retirement in 2017.

In addition, he was involved in various research institutions; he was president of both the Western Finance Association and the Midwest Finance Association where he also sat on the board for a long time. In 2003, he served as president of the North American Economic and Finance Association, and from 1991 to 2000 he was a member of the board of directors of the International Association of Financial Engineers. He was a co-editor of the Journal of Financial Stability with I. Hasan and W. C. Hunter; a founding co-editor of the Journal of Financial Services Research; president of the Western Finance Association, Western Economic Association, Midwest Finance Association, and the North American Economics and Finance Association; and director of the American Finance Association.

• Co-Chair, Shadow Financial Regulatory Committee
• Co-Editor, Journal of Financial Stability
• Founding Editor, Journal of Financial Services Research
• Editor, Research in Financial Services

• Contemporary Economic Policy
• Review of Pacific Basin Financial Markets and Policies
• Journal of Managerial Issues
• North American Review of Economics and Finance
• Journal of Applied Business Research
• Multinational Finance Journal

• President, Western Finance Association, 1974-75
• Board of Directors, American Finance Association, 1977-80
• Outstanding Faculty Member, College of Business, Loyola University Chicago 1983
• President, Midwest Finance Association, 1986-87
• Faculty Member of the Year, Loyola University Chicago, 1992
• Distinguished Scholar Award, Midwest Finance Association, 2002
• Adam Smith Award, National Association for Business Economics, 2002
• President, North American Economic and Finance Association, 2003
• Professional Fellow, Reserve Bank of New Zealand, 2004
• Board of Directors, Western Economic Association, 2005
• President, Western Economics Association, 2013-14
• Keynote Address
• Midwest Economic and Finance Associations, 1994
• Japan Society of Monetary Economics, 1996
• Academy of Economics and Finance, 1997
• Midwest Finance Association, 2002
• Taiwan Economic Association, 2005

Kaufman was married to his wife Mimi Winter for 18 years.

He died of Parkinson’s disease on June 25, 2000, at age 87 at his home in Chicago.

In his career, Kaufman authored over 200 scientific papers and wrote or edited numerous books.

Journal Articles

• “Asset Price Bubbles: Lessons from the Recent Financial Crisis,” World Financial Review, September/October 2012, (Co-author with Douglas Evanoff and A.G. Malliaris)
• “Too Big to Fail in Banking: What Does it Mean?,” Journal of Financial Stability, August 2014.
• Kaufman, G. G. “Resolving Insolvent Large Complex Financial Institutions: A Better Way.” The Banking Law Journal. (2011).
• Kaufman, G. G. Shadow Financial Regulatory Committee. Journal of Applied Finance. (2011).
• Kaufman, G. G., R. Eisenbeis. “Cross-Border Banking and Financial Stability in the EU.” Journal of Financial Stability. (2008).
• Kaufman, G.G., E. Brewer, L. Wall. “Bank Capital Ratios Across Countries: Why Do They Vary.” Journal of Financial Services Research. (2008).
• Kaufman, G.G. “Deposit Insurance: The Wrong Policy for Minimizing The Costs of Bank Failures.” Journal of Economic Asymmetries. (2007).
• Kaufman, G.G. “A Proposal for Efficiently Resolving Out-of-the-Money Swap Positions at Large Insolvent Banks.” Journal of Banking Regulation. (2007).
• Kaufman, G.G. “Some Further Thoughts About the Road to Safer Banking. Economic Review.” Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. (2007).
• Kaufman, G.G., C. Johnson. “A Bank by Any Other Name...” Economic Perspectives (Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago). (2007).
• Kaufman, G.G., & R. Bliss. “U.S. Corporate and Bank Bankruptcy Regimes: A Comparison and Evaluation.” Virginia Law and Business Review. (2007).
• Kaufman, G.G. “Some Further Thoughts About the Road to Safer Banking.” Economic Review (Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta). (2007).
• Kaufman, G.G., R. Bliss. “U.S. Corporate and Bank Insolvency Regimes: An Economic Comparison and Evaluation.” Economic Perspectives (Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago). (2006).
• Kaufman, G.G., & R. Bliss. “Derivatives and Systemic Risk: Netting, Collateral, and Closeout.” Journal of Financial Stability. (2006).
• Kaufman, G.G. “Duration: What is all the Disagreement About.” Journal of Applied Finance. (2006).
• Kaufman, G.G. “Using Efficient Bank Insolvency Resolution to Solve the Deposit Insurance Problem.” Journal of Banking Regulation. (2006).
• Kaufman, G.G., R. Eisenbeis. “Bank Crisis Resolution and Foreign-Owned Banks.” Economic Review (Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta). (2005).

Books

• Kaufman, G. G. The Role of Central Banks in Financial Stability. World Scientific. 2013.
• Kaufman, G. G. The Social Value of the Financial Sector: Too Big To Fail or Just Too Big?. (With Douglas Darrell Evanoff, Richard Portes, Thorsten Beck, and Viral Acharya) World Scientific. 2013.
• Malliaris, A., Douglas Darrell Evanoff, G.G. Kaufman. New Perspectives on Asset Price Bubbles: Theory, Evidence and Policy. Oxford University Press, 2012.
• Malliaris, A., G.G. Kaufman, Douglas Darrell Evanoff. New Perspectives on Asset Price Bubbles; An Overview. Eds. A. G. Malliaris, Doug Evanoff and George Kaufman. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012. 3-10.
• Kaufman, G.G. Macroprudential Regulatory Policies: The New Road to Financial Stability? (with Stijn Claessens) World Scientific, 2011.
• Kaufman, G.G. New Perspectives on Asset Price Bubbles. Oxford University Press, 2011.
• Kaufman, G.G. The International Financial Crisis: Have the Rules of the Game Changed?. World Scientific, 2011.
• Bliss, R., G.G. Kaufman. Financial Institutions and Markets - The Financial Crisis: An Early Retrospective. 2010.
• Kaufman, G.G., Douglas Darrell Evanoff, D. Hoelscher. Globalization and Systemic Risk. 2009.
• Kaufman, G.G., Douglas Darrell Evanoff, P. Hartmann. The First Credit Market Turmoil of the 21st Century. 2009.
• Kaufman, G.G., R. Bliss. Financial Institutions and Markets: 2007-2008-The Year of Crisis. 2009.
• Kaufman, G.G., R. Bliss. Financial Institutions and Markets: Current Issues in Financial Markets. 2008.
• Kaufman, G.G., D. Evanoff, R. LaBrosse, International Financial Instability: Global Banking and National Regulation. 2007.
• Kaufman, G.G., G. Caprio, D. Evanoff, Cross-Border Banking: Regulatory Challenges. 2006.
• Kaufman, G.G. and D. Evanoff, Systemic Financial Crises: Resolving Large Bank Insolvencies. 2005.

Monograph

• Kaufman, G.G. The Financial Turmoil of 2007-09: Sinners and Their Sins. (2010).
• Kaufman, G.G. A Program for Minimizing the Private and Public Costs of Bank Failures. (2007).

Book Chapters

• Kaufman, G.G. “Deposit Insurance Revised Edition”. Oxford Press, 2013.
• Malliaris, A., G.G. Kaufman, D. Evanoff. “New Perspectives on Asset Price Bubbles: An Overview.” New Perspectives on Asset Price Bubbles. Eds. A. G. Malliaris, Doug Evanoff and George Kaufman. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012. 3-10.
• Kaufman, G.G. “Commentary on Robert Shiller and Randall Kroszner.” Reforming the U.S. Financial Markets. MIT Press, 2011.
• Kaufman, G.G. “Living Wills: Putting the Caboose Before the Engine.” Managing Risk in the Financial System. Ed. Edward Elgar. 2011.
• Kaufman, G.G. “Resolving Large Complex Insolvent Financial Institutions Within and Across Jurisdictions.” Managing Risk in the Financial System. Ed. Edward Elgar. 2011.
• Kaufman, G.G. “Runs on Chartered and Shadow Banks: The Mechanics and Implications.” Financial Contagion. Wiley, 2011.
• Kaufman, G.G. “The World of Unintended Consequences: A Post Mortem on Regulation Q and Prologue for the Future.” Financial Institutions, Systems and Markets. Ed. Edward Elgar. 2011.
• Bliss, R., G.G. Kaufman. “Basel II Has Been a Costly Distraction on the Road to Minimizing the Societal Cost of Bank Failures and Financial Crises.” Financial Institutions and Markets - The Financial Crisis: An Early Retrospective. 2010.
• Kaufman, G.G., R. Eisenbeis. “Deposit Insurance.”, The Oxford Handbook of Banking. 2010.
• Kaufman, G.G., R. Eisenbeis. “The Demise of UK’s Northern Rock and Large U.S. Financial Institutions: Public Policy Lessons.” Lessons from the Financial Crisis. 2010.
• Malliaris, A., G.G. Kaufman. “The Financial Crisis of 2007-09: Missing Financial Regulation or Absentee Regulators?” Ed. Robert Kolb. Lessons from the Financial Crisis: Causes, Consequences, and Our Economic Future. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 2010. 337-343.
• Kaufman, G.G., A.G. Malliaris. “The Financial Crisis of 2007-09: Missing Financial Regulations or Absentee Regulators.” Lessons from the Financial Crisis. 2010.
• Kaufman, G.G. “The Financial Turmoil of 2007-XX: Causes, Culprits and Consequences.” Financial Crisis Management and Bank Resolution. 2009.
• Kaufman, G.G., R. Eisenbeis. “Lessons From The Demise Of The UK’s Northern Rock and the US’ Countrywide and Indy Mac.” The Failure of Northern Rock. 2009.
• Kaufman, G.G. “Bank Fragility: Perception and Historical Evidence.” Towards A New Framework for Financial Stability. 2009.
• Kaufman, G.G., R. Eisenbeis. “Cross-Border Banking: Challenges for Deposit Insurance and Financial Stability in the European Union.” Building the Financial Foundations of the Euro Experiences and Challenges. 2008.
• Kaufman, G.G., C. Johnson. “When a Bank is not a Bank: The Case of Industrial Loan Companies.” Financial Institutions and Markets. 2008.
• Kaufman, George. G., R. Eisenbeis. “Challenges for Deposit Insurance and Finance Stability in Cross-Border Banking with Emphasis on the European Union.” Cross-Border Banking: Regulatory Challenges. World Scientific, 2006.
• Kaufman, G.G. & S. Seelig. “Minimizing Post-Resolution Costs in Bank Failures.”, Global Banking Issues. Nova Publishers, 2005.
• Kaufman, George. G. “The Development and Structure of Financial Markets in Europe.” European-American Trade and Financial Alliances. Ed. Edward Elgar. 2005.

Presentation of Refereed Papers

• Kaufman, G.G. “Resolving Insolvent Large Complex Financial Institutions: A Better Way.” The Banking Law Journal. 2011.
• Kaufman, G.G. “Why Do Capital Ratios Vary Across Large Banks?” Finance-Law Conference. Bacconi University, Italy. 2008.
• Kaufman, G.G. “Discussant.” University of Groningen. Netherlands. 2008.
• Kaufman, G.G. “How US Resolves Bank Insolvencies.” Cass Business School. London, United Kingdom. 2008.
• Kaufman, G.G. “How US Resolves Bank Insolvencies.” Cass Business School. London, United Kingdom. 2008.
• Kaufman, G.G. “Bank Vs Corporate Bankruptcy Regimes.” University of Zurich. Zurich, Switzerland. 2008.
• Kaufman, G.G. “Discussant.” International Banking, Economics and Finance Association. Honolulu, Hawaii. 2008.
• Kaufman, G.G. “Discussant.” North American Economic and Finance Association. 2008.
• Kaufman, G.G. “The Financial Crisis of 2008: Causes, Culprits and Consequences.” Coatings Trade Federation. Zurich, Switzerland. 2008.
• Kaufman, G.G. “US Bank Bankruptcy Code.” London School of Economics. London, United Kingdom. 2008.
• Kaufman, G.G. “Why Do Large Bank Capital Ratios Vary Across Countries?” Financial Management Association. Dallas, Texas. 2008.
• Kaufman, G.G. “Bank Risks and Bankruptcy.” ERM Conference. Chicago, Illinois. 2008.
• Kaufman, G.G. “US Bank Bankruptcy Code.” Bank of England. London, United Kingdom. 2008.
• Kaufman, G.G. “Why Do Large Bank Capital Ratios Vary Across Countries?” Financial Management Association. Dallas, Texas. 2008.
• Kaufman, G.G., E. Brewer, L. Wall. “Bank Capital and Bank Profitability.” Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Bank Structure Conference. Chicago, Illinois. 2007.
• Kaufman, G.G. “Banking Reform: 20 Years Back and 20 Years Forward.” Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. Atlanta, Georgia. 2007.
• Kaufman, G.G., R. Bliss. “Comparison of U.S. Banking and Corporate Bankruptcy Codes.” European meetings of Financial Management Association, Barcelona, Spain. 2007.
• Kaufman, G.G. “Deposit Insurance: The Wrong Policy for Minimizing the Cost of Bank Failures.” Athenian Forum. Chicago, Illinois. 2007.
• Kaufman, G.G. “Bank Deposit Insurance is a Second Best Solution.” Indiana State University. Terre Haute, Indiana. 2007.
• Kaufman, G.G. “Bank Deposit Insurance is a Second Best Solution.” University of New Mexico. Albuquerque, New Mexico. 2007.
• Kaufman, G.G, C. Johnson. “A Bank by Any Other Name...” Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Chicago, Illinois. 2007.
• Kaufman, G.G., R. Eisenbeis. “Cross-Border Banking and Challenges for the EU.” European meetings of Financial Management Association. Barcelona, Spain. 2007.
• Kaufman, G.G., R. Bliss. “Comparing U.S. Bank and Corporate Bankruptcy Codes.” Conference at Bacconi University. Milan, Italy. 2007.
• Kaufman, G.G., R. Eisenbeis. “Cross-Border Banking and Challenges for the EU.” Bank of Finland and Journal of Financial Stability Conference. Helsinki, Finland. 2007.
• Kaufman, G.G. “Lessons from U.S. Banking Crisis.” Bank of Estonia. Tallinn, Estonia. 2007.
• Kaufman, G.G. “Cross-Border Banking in the EU.” European Commission Conference. Brussels, Belgium. 2006.
• Kaufman, G.G. “Resolving Large Bank Insolvencies in the EU.” European Central Bank - Bank of Spain Conference. Madrid, Spain. 2006.
• Kaufman, G.G. “Basel II: Not the Way to Go.” Financial Management Association. Salt Lake City, Utah. 2006.
• Kaufman, G.G. “Basel II: Inferior to PCA for U.S.” Midwest Finance Association. Chicago, Illinois. 2006.
• Kaufman, G.G. “Basel II is a Costly Diversion.” FDIC Conference. Washington, District of Columbia. 2006.
• Kaufman, G.G. “Regulation Q: A Retrospective.” American Enterprise Institute. Washington, District of Columbia. 2006.
• Kaufman, G.G., R. Bliss. “Comparing Bank and Corporate Bankruptcy Codes.” Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Seminar. Chicago, Illinois. 2006.
• Kaufman, G.G., R. Bliss. “Comparing Bank and Corporate Bankruptcy Codes.” American Institute for Economic Research. Great Barrington, Massachusetts. 2006.
• Kaufman, G.G. “Bank Safety and Soundness: Past, Present, and Future.” Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Conference. San Francisco, California. 2006.
• Kaufman, G.G. “Resolving Large Bank Insolvencies in the EU.” European Central Bank - Bank of Spain Conference. Madrid, Spain. 2006.
• Kaufman, G.G. “Efficient Resolution of Insolvent Banks.” Financial Management Association. Stockholm, Sweden. 2006.
• Kaufman, G.G. “Cross-Border Banking in the EU.” London School of Economics Conference. London, United Kingdom. 2006.
• Kaufman, G.G., R. Eisenbeis. “Cross-Border Banking Challenges.” Bank Norway Conference. Oslo, Norway. 2005.
• Kaufman, G.G. “Efficient Bank Insolvency Resolution.” Taiwan Economics Association Keynote Paper. Taipei, Taiwan. 2005.
• Kaufman, G.G. “Efficient Bank Insolvency Resolution and Deposit Insurance.” International Association of Deposit Insurers Annual Meeting. Taipei, Taiwan. 2005.
• Kaufman, G.G. “Resolving Bank Insolvencies Efficiently.” Mexico Deposit Insurance Agency Conference. Mexico City, Mexico. 2005.
• Kaufman, G.G., R. Bliss. “Bank and Corporate Insolvency Resolution.” Allied Social Science Association Meetings. Boston, Massachusetts. 2005.
• Kaufman, G.G. “Basel II Problems.” Pacific Basin Finance Conference, Rutgers University. New Brunswick, New Jersey. 2005.
• Kaufman, G.G. “Limitations of Basel II.” American Institute for Economic Research. Great Barrington, Massachusetts. 2005.
• Kaufman, G.G. “Limitations of Basel II Agreement.” Conference at London School of Economics. London, United Kingdom. 2005.
• Kaufman, G.G., and R. Bliss. “Comparing Bank and Corporate Bankruptcy Codes.” Seminar at FDIC. Washington, District of Columbia. 2005.
• Kaufman, G.G. “Resolving Bank Insolvencies Efficiently.” Central Bank of Guatemala Conference. Guatemala City, Guatemala. 2005.
• Kaufman, G.G., R. Eisenbeis. “Deposit Insurance and Cross Border Banking.” Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and World Bank International Conference. Chicago, Illinois. 2005.
• Kaufman, G.G. “Too Big to Fail in Banking.” Wake Forest University. 2005.
• Kaufman, G.G., R. Bliss. “Comparing Bank and Corporate Bankruptcy Codes.” North American Economic and Finance Association/Western Economic Association. San Francisco, California. 2005.
• Kaufman, G.G., R. Bliss. “Comparing Bank and Corporate Bankruptcy Codes.” North American Economic and Finance Association/Western Economic Association. San Francisco, California. 2005.
• Kaufman, G.G., R. Bliss. “The Economics of Netting at Commercial Banks.” Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Seminar. Chicago, Illinois. 2005.