Law professor among select experts to testify at financial commission hearing

Chapman University School of Law Professor Kurt Eggert will testify tomorrow, Sept. 23, before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission during its Sacramento Field Hearing.  The commission was created by the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009.  Its purpose is to examine the causes of the current financial and economic crisis in the United States and the causes of the collapse of major financial institutions.  Commission members include Phil Angelides (Chair), Brooksley Born and Sen. Bob Graham, among others.  Professor Eggert has been asked to provide his analysis and views on how securitization affected mortgage origination practices, increased the level of risk in the financial system and affected the extent of foreclosures. 

Other experts who will testify or have already testified include  Joseph Stiglitz (Columbia, economics), Randall Kroszner (University of Chicago, economics)  Gary Gorton (Yale, finance), Markus Brunnermeier (Princeton, economics), Simon Johnson (MIT, entrepreneurship), John Taylor (Stanford, economics), Martin Baily (Brookings Institution, economics), and Hal Scott (Harvard Law). 

The commission’s findings and conclusions are expected to be presented to the President by Dec. 15.