But, 16 years (after the 2008 crisis), some experts believe new risks are emerging. And this time, they are linked to highly indebted companies backed by private equity firms, which are part of the growing but opaque portion of the financial system known as the shadow banking sector. Shadow banking refers to financial firms that face little to no regulation compared with traditional lenders, and includes businesses such as hedge funds, private credit and private equity funds.

While the use of securitisation dipped in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, as a result of a tarnished reputation and regulatory backlash, its popularity has subsequently risen. Today, the global securitisation market covers about £4.7tn of assets, according to estimates by analysts at RBC Capital.

In this public market, bundled loans are rated by credit rating agencies and sold on to a broad range of investors, and their terms, structure and sales are openly disclosed. These are the routes typically taken by traditional banks, which face far more stringent regulation. The remaining £120bn is made up of securitised loans bundled up by the shadow banking sector. Private securities are sold directly to a limited pool of sophisticated investors. They are less regulated, need not be reviewed by ratings agencies, and are far more opaque.

  • Kecessa
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    1 day ago

    GME stock owners be like “Yeah, we have been talking about that shit for years now!”

      • Kecessa
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        6 hours ago

        Just saying that these guys have been going crazy trying to find all the cracks in the system and have been talking about all the systemic risks for years at this point. It’s not related to GME in particular, it’s just that this crowd of retail investors are extremely interested in anything that could point to a potential market collapse and they are ahead of financial news sites for many of these things.

      • The Snark Urge@lemmy.world
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        6 hours ago

        tl;dr is that when the GameStop squeeze didn’t occur, loads of those traders got really into market mechanics, fiscal policy, and activism.

        I still sign their petitions, but I’ve had the passion for it beaten out of me over the years. Markets are, I believe, unfair by design, and this economic system is functioning exactly as intended.