Who is William K. Black?

William K. Black

Associate Professor of Economics and Law; A.B. (University of Michigan); J.D. (University of Michigan Law School); Ph.D. (University of California at Irvine)

Bill Black is an Associate Professor of Economics and Law at the University of Missouri – Kansas City (UMKC). He was the Executive Director of the Institute for Fraud Prevention from 2005-2007. He has taught previously at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin and at Santa Clara University, where he was also the distinguished scholar in residence for insurance law and a visiting scholar at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics.

He was litigation director of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board, deputy director of the FSLIC, SVP and General Counsel of the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco, and Senior Deputy Chief Counsel, Office of Thrift Supervision. He was deputy director of the National Commission on Financial Institution Reform, Recovery and Enforcement. His regulatory career is profiled in Chapter 2 of Professor Riccucci's book Unsung Heroes (Georgetown U. Press: 1995), Chapter 4 (“The Consummate Professional: Creating Leadership”) of Professor Bowman, et al’s book The Professional Edge (M.E. Sharpe 2004), and Joseph M. Tonon’s article: “The Costs of Speaking Truth to Power: How Professionalism Facilitates Credible Communication” Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 2008 18(2):275-295.

George Akerlof called his book, The Best Way to Rob a Bank is to Own One (University of Texas Press 2005), “a classic.” Paul Volcker praised its analysis of the critical role of Bank Board Chairman Gray’s leadership in reregulating and resupervising the industry:

Bill Black has detailed an alarming story about financial - and political - corruption. The specifics go back twenty years, but the lessons are as fresh as the morning newspaper. One of those lessons really sticks out: one brave man with a conscience could stand up for us all.


Robert Kuttner, in his Business Week column, proclaimed:

Black's book is partly the definitive history of the savings-and-loan industry scandals of the early 1980s. More important, it is a general theory of how dishonest CEOs, crony directors, and corrupt middlemen can systematically defeat market discipline and conceal deliberate fraud for a long time -- enough to create massive damage.


Black developed the concept of “control fraud” – frauds in which the CEO or head of state uses the entity as a “weapon.” Control frauds cause greater financial losses than all other forms of property crime combined and kill and maim thousands. He recently helped the World Bank develop anti-corruption initiatives and served as an expert for OFHEO in its enforcement action against Fannie Mae’s former senior management.

He teaches White-Collar Crime, Public Finance, Antitrust, Law & Economics (all joint, multidisciplinary classes for economics and law students), and Latin American Development (co-taught with Professor Grieco, UMKC – History).


NOW READ WHAT MONEYTHOUGHTS WANTS YOU TO DO:

Yesterday I asked everyone to read the interview Bill Moyer had with William K. Black about the banking, investment banking and credit rating agencies fraud. Today I have posted a short bio of William K. Black. Yesterday in my comments section, I asked everyone to print out from their computer printer a copy of this interview and send it to The White House to the attention of President Obama.

The election in part was about CHANGE. Well, this interview describes a situation in which CHANGE is needed and needed NOW! The word HOPE was used a lot in the election campaign too, and I HOPE that President Obama will see that there are people like you and me, who know what the score is, and that we want a Level Playing Field!

Take a moment to make a hard copy of the Bill Moyer- William K. Black interview and send it with your cover letter to The White House. Whether you are a Republican, Democrat or an Independent, you need to join me and get your friends and fellow bloggers to join us and send a copy of the interview to President Obama, The White House, 1600 Penna. Avenue, Washington, D.C. 20502.

We all have suffered huge losses in our investments, our IRAs, our 401-Ks, our real property. A fraud was committed and we can not just move forward and sweep the mess under the carpet. This fraud has affected nearly every American and it is now time for people to say, "I have had enough, and I am not going to take it anymore!" If you don't act, you have no right to complain. Stand up for yourself, join me and send this interview to The White House. Make a statement today!!!

Stay tuned.