Abstract

At the Pittsburgh Summit in 2009, G-20 Leaders called on the FSB to propose measures to address the systemic and moral hazard risks associated with systemically important financial institutions (SIFIs). The "too-big-to-fail" (TBTF) problem arises when the threatened failure of a SIFI leaves public authorities with no option but to bail it out using public funds to avoid financial instability and economic damage. The knowledge that this can happen encourages SIFIs to take excessive risks and represents a large implicit public subsidy of private enterprise. The report takes stock of the progress made in implementing the FSB's policy framework for reducing the moral hazard posed by (SIFIs) and sets out the further actions that are required from the G-20, the FSB and other international bodies to complete the policy initiative to end "too-big-to-fail".