In un articolo su the Atlantic viene propettata una incombente crisi del sistema bancario USA, analoga a quella del 2008 per i mutui sub-prime, ma di dimensioni maggiori.

I protagonisti sono sempre dei sofisticati prodotti finanziari, denominati Collateralizated Loan Obligations (CLO)

After the housing crisis, subprime CDOs naturally fell out of favor. Demand shifted to a similar—and similarly risky—instrument, one that even has a similar name: the CLO, or collateralized loan obligation. A CLO walks and talks like a CDO, but in place of loans made to home buyers are loans made to businesses—specifically, troubled businesses. CLOs bundle together so-called leveraged loans, the subprime mortgages of the corporate world. These are loans made to companies that have maxed out their borrowing and can no longer sell bonds directly to investors or qualify for a traditional bank loan. There are more than $1 trillion worth of leveraged loans currently outstanding. The majority are held in CLOs.

Secondo l’articolo, le riforme post-2008 non hanno inciso adeguatamente e la crisi COVID-19 rischia di creare i presupposti per una nuova grande crisi del sistema bancario, in un contesto politico che non sembra adeguato a farvi fronte.

Immagine da Public Domain.