Professor Hillman Comments on Bank ‘Stress Tests' for Reuters
Professor Robert Hillman commented on the lack of disclosure of information gained in government tests of U.S. banks for a recent Reuters news agency article. The nation's 19 largest banks have been asked by the Treasury Department and Federal Reserve not to release information regarding the government's "stress tests" out of concern that information will create market instability if not properly framed. Professor Hillman pointed out that withholding such information goes against traditional concepts of disclosure requirements.
"For 75 years, we have had a regulatory philosophy that investors need information," said Professor Hillman. "We are now turning that on its head, and saying investors won't know how to use information they do get."
Hillman, professor of law and Fair Business Practices and Investor Advocacy Chair at UC Davis, is a scholar in the fields of international transactions, securities regulation, and corporate and partnership law.