Peter Conti-Brown
- Assistant Professor of Legal Studies & Business Ethics
Contact Information
- Primary Email:
petercb@wharton.upenn.edu - Office Phone:
215-898-6516 - Mobile Phone:
650 799 7232
- office Address:
3730 Walnut Street
600 Jon M. Huntsman Hall
Office 647
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Research Interests: administrative law, central banking, financial history, financial regulation, fiscal crises, political history, public finance, the Federal Reserve
Links: CV
Overview
Peter Conti-Brown is an assistant professor at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. A financial historian and a legal scholar, Conti-Brown studies central banking, financial regulation, and public finance, with a particular focus on the history and policies of the US Federal Reserve System. He is author of the book The Power and Independence of the Federal Reserve (Princeton University Press 2016), the editor of two other books, and author or co-author of a dozen articles on central banking, financial regulation, and bank corporate governance. He received a law degree from Stanford Law School and a PhD in history from Princeton. He is currently at work on two books, both forthcoming from Harvard University Press. The first is a history of bank supervision in the United States from the Civil War to Donald Trump (co-authored with Sean Vanatta), the second a comprehensive political and institutional history of the US Federal Reserve.
Conti-Brown is married with three children.
Education
Academic Positions Held
Other Positions Held
Research
Peter Conti-Brown, The Power and Independence of the Federal Reserve (2016)
Peter Conti-Brown, Behind the Link Between Wall Street and the Fed in Fortune.
Peter Conti-Brown, Misreading Walter Bagehot: What Lombard Street Really Says to Modern Central Bankers in The New Rambler.
Peter Conti-Brown, What Vanishing Bank Profits Mean for Higher Interest Rates in Fortune.
Peter Conti-Brown, Finance By and For the People in The New Rambler.
Peter Conti-Brown (2015), The Institutions of Federal Reserve Independence, Yale Journal of Regulation.
Peter Conti-Brown, To Fix the Fed, Simplify It in The New York Times.
Peter Conti-Brown, Barney Frank's Rules of Order in The New Rambler.
Peter Conti-Brown (2015), The Twelve Federal Reserve Banks: Governance and Accountability in the 21st Century, Brookings Institution, Hutchins Center for Fiscal and Monetary Policy.
Teaching
Past Courses
LGST101 - LAW AND SOCIAL VALUES
This course presents law as an evolving social institution, with special emphasis on the legal regulation of business in the context of social values. It considers basic concepts of law and legal process, in the U.S. and other legal systems, and introduces the fundamentals of rigorous legal analysis. An in-depth examination of contract law is included.
LGST223 - SECURITIES REGULATION
The course examines the federal securities laws and the operation of the Securities Exchange Commission. The legal responsibilities of corporate managers, accountants, underwriters, and broker-dealers, occasioned by the securities regulatory scheme, will be investigated. Students will be encouraged to evaluate, from a managerial perspective, the various aspects of securities regulation studied. The course will discuss the recent financial crisis and ask the question whether enhanced securities regulation will prevent such a crisis in the future. The material covered in the course will provide familiarity with the basic legal structure of securities regulation and will assist in understanding the current policy issues in securities law. The course should help students to develop the ability to read and learn further in the field and to improve their effectiveness of communication with attorneys. It will also suggest ways of detecting instances in which an attorney should be consulted. The course is particularly useful for those students pursuing careers in corporate finance, investment banking, mergers and acquisitions, sales and trading, venture capital, private equity, entrepreneurship, accounting, corporate management, and real estate.
LGST243 - OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY
We learn in introductory economics courses that money is fungible: that is, one dollar is as good as the next. Indeed, using money as a "medium of exchange" is one of its defining characteristics. But what happens when we take a big pile of money and put it in different buckets. On one bucket we might write "hedge fund"; on another, "central bank"; on still another, "payday lender." Then money starts to change in ways defined by law, history, ethics, and politics. This course will take you on a tour of these different buckets--different kinds of financial institutions, broadly defined--throughout the modern financial system. We will look at hedge funds, insurance companies, investment banks, sovereign wealth funds, central banks, consumer banks, payday lenders, state-sponsored enterprises (like the Export-Import Bank in the United States and much of the financial system in China), and the cutting edge of fintech, including crowd-funded lending, digital currencies, and more. In each case, students will be exposed to a series of specialized questions: Where did this institution come from? What problem is it trying to solve that other alternatives could not resolve? What is the basic business (or, where relevant, regulatory) model for each institution? How is each institution regulated, and by whom? What are the ethical considerations in each context? What are the political considerations that each market participant faces?
LGST299 - SEMINAR IN LAW & SOCIETY
A study of the nature, functions, and limits of law as an agency of societal policy. Each semester an area of substantive law is studied for the purpose of examining the relationship between legal norms developed and developing in the area and societal problems and needs.
LGST612 - RESPONSIBILITY IN BUS.
This course introduces students to important ethical and legal challenges they will face as leaders in business. The course materials will be useful to students preparing for managerial positions that are likely to place them in advisory and/or agency roles owing duties to employers, clients, suppliers, and customers. Although coverage will vary depending on instructor, the focus of the course will be on developing skills in ethical and legal analyses that can assist managers as they make both individual-level and firm-level decisions about the responsible courses of action when duties, loyalties, rules, norms, and interests are in conflict. For example, the rules of insider trading may form the basis for lessons in some sections. Group assignments, role-plays, and case studies may, at the instructor's discretion, be used to help illustrate the basic theoretical frameworks. Course materials will highlight industry codes and professional norms, as well as the importance of personal and/or religious values. Format: class participation, quiz, group report, and final paper or exam. Materials: coursepack. Prerequisites: none.
LGST643 - OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY
We learn in introductory economics courses that money is fungible: that is, one dollar is as good as the next. Indeed, using money as a "medium of exchange" is one of its defining characteristics. But what happens when we take a big pile of money and put it in different buckets. On one bucket we might write "hedge fund"; on another, "central bank"; on still another, "payday lender." Then money starts to change in ways defined by law, history, ethics, and politics. This course will take you on a tour of these different buckets--different kinds of financial institutions, broadly defined--throughout the modern financial system. We will look at hedge funds, insurance companies, investment banks, sovereign wealth funds, central banks, consumer banks, payday lenders, state-sponsored enterprises (like the Export-Import Bank in the United States and much of the financial system in China), and the cutting edge of fintech, including crowd-funded lending, digital currencies, and more. In each case, students will be exposed to a series of specialized questions: Where did this institution come from? What problem is it trying to solve that other alternatives could not resolve? What is the basic business (or, where relevant, regulatory) model for each institution? How is each institution regulated, and by whom? What are the ethical considerations in each context? What are the political considerations that each market participant faces?
LGST807 - SECURITIES REG
The course examines the federal securities law and the operation of the Securities Exchange Commission. The legal responsibilities of corporate managers, accountants, underwriters, and broker-dealers, occasioned by the securities regulatory scheme, will be investigated. Students will be encouraged to evaluate, from a managerial perspective, the various aspects of securities regulation studied. The course will discuss the recent financial crisis and ask the question whether enhanced securities regulation will prevent such a crisis in the future. The material covered in the course will provide familiarity with the basic legal structure of securities regulation and will assist in understanding the current policy issues in securities law. The course should help students to develop the ability to read and learn further in the field and to improve their effectiveness of communication with attorneys. It will also suggest ways of detecting instances in which an attorney should be consulted. The course is particularly useful for those students pursuing careers in corporate finance, investment banking, mergers and acquisitions, sales and trading, venture capital, private equity, entrepreneurship, accounting, corporate management and real estate. Requirements: Midterm and final exam. Materials: Text, pamphlet of statutes and rules, and study guide.
LGST813 - LEG ASP ENTREPRENRSHP
Legal and Transactional Aspects of Entrepreneurship is a practical and intensive course that examines the critical legal and transactional issues confronting start-up and emerging growth companies. Although the context of the course is early stage companies, many of the concepts studied are equally applicable to more mature, established companies. The course provides perspective on how to use the law strategically to manage risk, deploy resources and maximize shareholder value. Topics include the enforceability of confidentiality, non-competition and other restrictive covenants in employment agreements; choice of business form including the legal, financial and tax advantages and disadvantages of general partnerships, limited partnerships, corporations and limited liability companies; tax and securities law; legal aspects of raising capital including structuring venture capital and private equity financing; entrepreneurial acquisition structures, employment law, and intellectual property law including trade secrets, copyrights, patents, and trademarks. Format: Lecture and discussion with coverage of legal cases and materials. Requirements: Class participation, midterm and final exam. Materials: Course pack.
Awards and Honors
- Wharton Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, 2017
- Stephen M. Kellen Term Member, Council on Foreign Relations, 2015-2020
- John R. Irwin Fellowship, Princeton University, Department of History, 2014-2015
- Junior Faculty Scholarship Prize, GW Law School Center for Law, Economics, and Finance, 2013
In the News
- Op-ed: “Too Many Empty Chairs at the Federal Reserve”, Wall Street Journal - 10/04/2017
- Quoted in ” Fifty percent of Penn students may have had private information leaked in a cyber attack”, The Daily Pennsylvanian - 09/20/2017
- Quoted in “How Will Trump Reshape the Federal Reserve?”, ValueWalk - 09/11/2017
- Quoted in: “New revelations may send Wells Fargo, regulators back to negotiating table”, MarketWatch - 09/01/2017
- Op-ed: “Why Wells Fargo Might Not Survive Its Fake Accounts Scandal”, Fortune - 08/31/2017
- Op-ed: “Three reasons why Trump must reappoint Janet Yellen”, Philadelphia Inquirer - 08/25/2017
- Quoted in: “Wells Fargo’s New Chairman Elizabeth Duke Knows Crises”, Wall Street Journal - 08/15/2017
- Quoted in “Wells Fargo names female chairman, a first for a top US bank”, CNN - 08/15/2017
- Quoted in “Who will be the next chair of the Federal Reserve?”, The Economist - 08/10/2017
- Quoted in: “Is the Fed’s community banker seat worth the trouble?”, American Banker - 08/02/2017
- Quoted in “Nobody Really Knows What the Fed Does, But They Think It’s Bad”, NBC News - 07/25/2017
- Quoted in: “Fed’s Kaplan Says Chair Must Command Respect as Economic Analyst”, Bloomberg - 07/14/2017
- Quoted in: “Wall Street Weighs Prospect of One of Its Own as Fed Chair”, TheStreet - 07/12/2017
- Quoted in: “GC Pick Shows Fed’s Limited Desire for Dodd-Frank Changes”, Law360 - 07/06/2017
- Quoted in: “A Mystery Fed Candidate Won a Seat at the FOMC Table, Then Walked Away”, Bloomberg - 06/27/2017
- Quoted in: “Trump Walks Tightrope on the Federal Reserve”, TheStreet - 06/25/2017
- Quoted in: “Trump is ready to go to bat for big banks—but Yellen still has an ace up her sleeve”, Quartz - 06/20/2017
- Quoted in: “Wall Street Veteran Leads Search for Next Fed Chief”, Wall Street Journal - 06/13/2017
- Cited in: “A President at War With His Fed Chief, 5 Decades Before Trump”, The New York Times - 06/13/2017
- Quoted in: ” A FEDERAL RESERVE BANK IGNORED INSIDER TRADING INVESTIGATION WHEN RE-APPOINTING ITS PRESIDENT”, The Intercept - 04/07/2017
- Quoted in: “Fed’s Lacker Resigns Over Leak, Dealing Blow to Bank’s Credibility”, Wall Street Journal - 04/04/2017
- Quoted in “Fed Leak Probe Dooms Lacker But Leaves Key Question: Who Leaked?”, Bloomberg - 04/04/2017
- Quoted in: “The Boston guy who helped avert economic disaster is leaving the Fed”, Boston Globe - 03/31/2017
- Quoted in “Edge or Liability? White House Ties May Cut Two Ways for Goldman”, The New York Times - 03/16/2017
- “Trump wants to dismantle Dodd-Frank. Could he make it happen?”, Philadelphia Inquirer - 02/24/2017
- Op-Ed: The Most Powerful Man in Washington You’ve Never Heard Of, Wall Street Journal - 02/17/2017
- Fed’s Tarullo Stepping Down as Top Regulator of Wall Street, Bloomberg - 02/10/2017
- Markets need to find vigilance in era of Trump populism, Financial Times - 01/27/2017
- Book review: The Power and Independence of the Federal Reserve, CFA Institute - 01/04/2017
- Tweeter-in-chief Trump faces test after Yellen’s rate decision, Chicago Tribune - 12/13/2016
- Interviewed on the Fed during the presidential election, The Atlantic - 11/02/2016
- Interviewed on big bank profits, Marketplace - 10/19/2016
- Op-ed on Donald Trump and the Fed, Fortune - 10/06/2016
- Op-ed on bank supervision and Wells Fargo, Law360 - 10/04/2016
- Quoted on Wells Fargo and small business loans, Reuters - 10/04/2016
- Quoted on political attacks on the Fed, New York Times - 09/28/2016
- Interviewed on Donald Trump and the Federal Reserve, Wall Street Journal - 09/21/2016
- Quoted on political attacks on the Fed, Bloomberg - 09/19/2016
- book highlighted in “Four Ways to Reform the Fed”, Bloomberg View - 08/30/2016
- book highlighted in “It’s going to be one heck of an election year, folks”, Financial Times - 08/23/2016
- book review, “Peter Conti-Brown on the Fed”, Seeking Alpha - 07/24/2016
- Let these books kick off your summer economics education with style, substance, Financial Post - 07/02/2016
- interviewed in Marketplace on interest rates, NPR-Marketplace - 06/15/2016
- book reviewed, Financial Times - 06/15/2016
- cited in The Economist, The Economist - 06/09/2016
- book review, R Street - 06/09/2016
- cited in Wall Street Journal article, Wall Street Journal - 05/31/2016
- quoted in article on Sen. Sanders’s plan for Puerto Rico, Think Progress - 05/20/2016
- book reviewed by Abu Dhabi newspaper, The National - 04/07/2016
- book reviewed at online symposium, Yale Journal on Regulation - 04/04/2016
- TV interview on Fed independence, Yahoo! Finance - 03/14/2016
- Podcast on Fed independence, Knowledge @ Wharton - 03/07/2016
- Book review of The Power and Independence of the Federal Reserve, Wall Street Journal - 03/04/2016
- Interviewed on Sen. Sanders’s Wall Street reform proposals, Daily Pennsylvanian - 02/26/2016
- Quoted in news article about the Fed and the marijuana industry, Sacramento Bee - 02/13/2016
- Radio interview on dark pools and high frequency trading, Knowledge @ Wharton - 02/12/2016
- Interviewed on legal challenges to negative interest rates, Wall Street Journal - 02/10/2016
- Quoted on problems facing the Fed, International Business Times - 01/22/2016
- Radio interview on Fed interest rates, CBS Radio - 12/16/2015
- Op-ed on Federal Reserve governance, Fortune Magazine - 12/16/2015
- Newspaper interview on Fed interest rates, Philadelphia Inquirer - 12/16/2015
- News interview on Fed interest rates, International Business Times - 12/16/2015
- Op-ed on Bank Profits and Monetary Policy, Fortune - 11/15/2015
- Research Profiled in Knowledge@Wharton, Knowledge@Wharton - 11/05/2015
- Interviewed on Marketplace regarding Fed messaging, NPR/Marketplace - 10/28/2015
- Quoted on lawsuit against Fed to permit marijuana bank, Associated Press - 10/22/2015
- Quoted on Fed interest rate hikes, American Banker - 09/18/2015
- Television interview on Fed rate hikes, CCTV-America - 09/17/2015
- Quoted on Bank of America’s corporate governance, Wall Street Journal - 08/19/2015
- Quoted on new president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Bloomberg News - 08/18/2015
- Quoted on Banking Issues in the Marijuana Industry, The New York Times - 07/30/2015
- Op-Ed on Reforming the Federal Reserve, The New York Times - 07/29/2015
- Research cited on governance of Federal Reserve, Reuters - 07/02/2015
Knowledge @ Wharton
- Is an Apology an Effective Marketing Campaign?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 06/28/2018
- The Pot Paradox: Can the U.S. Fix Its Conflicting Policies?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 03/02/2018
- Will the U.S. Economy’s Period of Stability Continue?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 02/26/2018
- Why 2018 Is Shaping Up to Be a Good Year for Banks, Knowledge @ Wharton - 01/25/2018
- What Will Waivers for Convicted Banks Mean for the Financial System?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 01/16/2018
- How New Fed Chair Jerome Powell Will Shape U.S. Monetary Policy, Knowledge @ Wharton - 11/03/2017
- How Equifax Botched Its Data Breach Response, Knowledge @ Wharton - 09/14/2017
- How Will Trump Reshape the Federal Reserve?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 09/11/2017
- Wells Fargo: What It Will Take to Clean Up the Mess, Knowledge @ Wharton - 08/08/2017
- How a Rollback of Dodd-Frank Would Impact Wall Street, Knowledge @ Wharton - 06/16/2017
- Will the Fed and U.S. Monetary Policy Ever Get Back to ‘Normal’?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 05/30/2017
- Predicting Financial Reform Under a Trump Presidency, Knowledge @ Wharton - 03/30/2017
- Repealing Dodd-Frank: What’s the Likely Fallout?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 02/10/2017
- Can Wells Fargo Repair Its Image Through Arbitration?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 12/02/2016
- Will the Crisis of Confidence at Deutsche Bank Spread?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 10/04/2016
- Why the Wells Fargo Hearing Raises More Questions Than It Answers, Knowledge @ Wharton - 09/23/2016
- The Wells Fargo Scandal: Is the Profit Model to Blame?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 09/13/2016
- Why Federal Regulation Isn’t Enough to Buffer Against Bank Failures, Knowledge @ Wharton - 05/19/2016
- Why the ‘Living Wills’ of Top U.S. Banks Failed the Test, Knowledge @ Wharton - 04/18/2016
- Behind the Mysteries of the Federal Reserve, Knowledge @ Wharton - 03/07/2016
- Will the New Light on Wall Street’s ‘Dark Pools’ Bring Stronger Regulation?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 02/12/2016
- The Intersection of Everything: Unmasking the Mystery of the Federal Reserve, Knowledge @ Wharton - 11/05/2015
- Can the Bank of England’s New ‘Ring-fencing’ Rules Work?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 10/20/2015
- What’s Behind the Fed’s Interest Rate Decision?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 09/21/2015
Activity
In the News
Is an Apology an Effective Marketing Campaign?Brands including Facebook, Wells Fargo and Uber have unveiled ad campaigns focused on making amends for recent misdeeds. But is it the right move?
Knowledge @ Wharton - 2018/06/28