Q&A with Janet Tavakoli

Apr 16, 2009

C-SPAN | Q&A

Janet Tavakoli is founder and president of Tavakoli Structured Finance, a Chicago-based firm that provides consulting to financial institutions and institutional investors. . Her new book is called Dear Mr. Buffett: What an Investor Learns 1,269 Miles from Wall Street. Its the story of her meetings with Warren Buffet prior to the .. Read More
Janet Tavakoli is founder and president of Tavakoli Structured Finance, a Chicago-based firm that provides consulting to financial institutions and institutional investors. . Her new book is called Dear Mr. Buffett: What an Investor Learns 1,269 Miles from Wall Street. Its the story of her meetings with Warren Buffet prior to the economic downturn and how that impacted the way she views investing. She is a former adjunct professor of derivatives at the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business. She has also worked for Westdeutsche Landesbank in London, Bank One in Chicago, Merrill Lynch, PaineWebber, and Bear Stearns

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TIME SPEAKER TEXT
00:02:16 Unidentified Speaker WHAT'S BEEN YOUR OWN RELATIONSHIP WITH MONEY?
00:02:19 Unidentified Speaker MY OWN RELATIONSHIP TO MONEY, THE WAY I VIEW IT, MAY BE DIFFERENT FROM A LOT OF OTHER PEOPLE. I VIEW...
00:02:52 Unidentified Speaker WHERE DO YOU LIVE?
00:02:54 Unidentified Speaker IN CHICAGO.
00:02:57 Unidentified Speaker HOW DO YOU MAKE YOUR MONEY?
00:02:58 Unidentified Speaker FROM INTELLECTUAL CAPITAL. SO I USED TO WORK MORE WITH MY HANDS. NOW I WORK MORE WITH MY MIND. I...
00:04:14 Unidentified Speaker WHAT WORD WOULD YOU USE TO DESCRIBE WHAT'S GOING ON?
00:04:18 Unidentified Speaker I WAS SOME COMPLICATED FEELINGS ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON, BECAUSE I'M SURE THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE WHO...
00:04:59 Unidentified Speaker THE ANSWER I WAS LOOKING FOR A WORD LIKE WE HEAR THE COMMONETATORS USE, LIKE I'M SCARED. ARE YOU SCARED?...
00:05:10 Unidentified Speaker WE SHOULD BE VERY WORRIED. I DON'T WANT TO SCARE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. LET ME FIRST SAY, AND THIS IS...
00:06:47 Unidentified Speaker DO YOU THINK THE $250,000 LIMIT WILL BE EXTENDED BEYOND?
00:06:52 Unidentified Speaker I HOPE IT WILL BE. THE OLD LIMIT WAS $100,000, AND THAT'S A BIG DIFFERENCE. AND I THINK PART OF THE...
00:07:54 Unidentified Speaker THIS BOOK, "DEAR MR. BUFFETT," IS YOUR BOOK?
00:08:02 Unidentified Speaker IF YOU COUNT THE SECOND EDITION, IT WOULD BE MY FIFTH BOOKS. MY FIRST BOOK HAS BEEN ON CREDIT DERIVATIVES....
00:09:48 Unidentified Speaker DID THE SIMPLE THING OF DEFINING A LOT OF THIS LANGUAGE, CREDIT DERIVATIVES, WHO INVENTED THAT TERM?...
00:09:56 Unidentified Speaker I DON'T KNOW WHO INVENTED THE TERM. IT'S BEEN AROUND FOR MAYBE 15 YEARS. BUT THAT DIDN'T START GROWING...
00:10:10 Unidentified Speaker DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHO STARTED IT?
00:10:15 Unidentified Speaker JP MORGAN-CHASE WAS IN THE FOREFRONT OF PUSHING THIS. AND IT WASN'T MEANT TO BE A BAD THING ORIGINALLY....
00:11:53 Unidentified Speaker YOU SAID A LOT OF THINGS THAT A LOT OF PERSON, I PUT MYSELF IN THAT -- A SUPER FUND?
00:12:07 Unidentified Speaker IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE SUPER SAFE. I TAKE A PACKAGE OF MORTGAGES AND I PUT THEM TOGETHER IN A POOL, I...
00:13:22 Unidentified Speaker ALL THESE, BY THE WAY, ARE NOT BACKED UP BY THE FEDERAL DEPOSIT?
00:13:26 Unidentified Speaker NOT AT ALL. THIS RISK WAS PURELY ON THE INVESTOR. MANY OF WHOM WERE SOPHISTICATED INVESTORS.
00:13:33 Unidentified Speaker WHAT HAPPENED TO THE -- WHEN I WAS GROWING UP, THE SIMPLE PROCESS OF GOING INTO A BANK AND GETTING...
00:13:53 Unidentified Speaker YOU HIT THE KEY PROBLEM ON THE HEAD. AND THAT IS, IF YOU HAD GONE TO A BANK, A BANK JONALLY KNOWS ...
00:15:52 Unidentified Speaker DEFINE THAT PERSON OR THAT GROUP OF PEOPLE THAT DECIDED THAT THIS WAWS VERY QUICK WAY OF MAKING LOTS...
00:16:02 Unidentified Speaker THERE ARE A LOT OF DONCHINGEAS OUT THERE THAT PUT THE TAIL ON. THERE WERE A NUMBER OF MORTGAGE LENDERS...
00:18:45 Unidentified Speaker TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK. I CAN SHOW YOU A VIDEO OF BOTH THE REPUBLICANS AND THE DEMOCRATS SAYING OVER...
00:19:12 Unidentified Speaker THIS --
00:19:14 Unidentified Speaker BUT THIS COULD HAPPEN AGAIN.
00:19:17 Unidentified Speaker THIS IS IS A BIPARTISAN PROBLEM. YOU HAVE PEOPLE LIKE BARNEY FRANK AND CHRIS D.O.D. WHO HAVE BEEN...
00:20:15 Unidentified Speaker IF YOU LOOK AT THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF FREDDIE AND FAN EARKS BOTH REPUBLICANS FROM POLITICS AND...
00:20:29 Unidentified Speaker THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF CRONY CAPITALISM. AND I THINK PEOPLE NEED TO PAY ATTENTION. WE HAVE A FINANCIAL...
00:23:17 Unidentified Speaker WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
00:23:18 Unidentified Speaker I WAS BORN IN CHICAGO. BUT IN MY ADULT LIFE, I'VE LIVED IN IRAN FOR A YEAR, IN NEW YORK AND LONDON...
00:23:34 Unidentified Speaker WHAT PART OF CHICAGO?
00:23:35 Unidentified Speaker THE SOUTH SIDE OF CHICAGO.
00:23:37 Unidentified Speaker DID YOU GO TO HIGH SCHOOL THERE?
00:23:38 Unidentified Speaker YES.
00:23:40 Unidentified Speaker WHERE DID YOU GO TO COLLEGE?
00:23:44 Unidentified Speaker I WENT TO COLLEGE IN CHICAGO.
00:23:48 Unidentified Speaker AND YOU'VE GOT A CHEMICAL
00:23:49 Unidentified Speaker YES.
00:23:50 Unidentified Speaker WHY?
00:23:52 Unidentified Speaker I ALWAYS LIKED MATH AND I LIKED CHEMISTRY A LOT. AND MY FATHER HAD DIED WHEN I WAS 12 YEARS OLD, AND...
00:24:52 Unidentified Speaker YOU MARRIED AN IRANIAN.
00:24:53 Unidentified Speaker THAT'S CORRECT. THAT'S MY EX-HUSBAND DS NAME.
00:24:57 Unidentified Speaker WHERE DID YOU MEET HIM?
00:24:59 Unidentified Speaker IN ENGINEERING SCHOOL.
00:25:01 Unidentified Speaker HOW LONG WERE YOUR MARRIED?
00:25:02 Unidentified Speaker FIVE YEARS.
00:25:03 Unidentified Speaker AND WHAT DID YOU LEARN ABOUT LIVING IN IRAN?
00:25:08 Unidentified Speaker WELL, YOU KNOW --
00:25:09 Unidentified Speaker WHAT YEAR?
00:25:12 Unidentified Speaker BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER THE SHAH WAS OVERTHROWN, FOR THAT PERIOD OF TIME. AND I LEFT IRAN AROUND...
00:27:51 Unidentified Speaker WHAT WAS YOUR MAIDEN NAME?
00:27:55 Unidentified Speaker IT WAS A GERMAN-AMERICAN NAME. I'M AN AMERICAN MUT, IRISH-GERMAN MIXTURE.
00:28:02 Unidentified Speaker GO BACK TO THE FINANCIAL SERVICES. WHAT COMPANIES? CAN YOU NAME THEM? THAT YOU WORKED IN FOR 20 YEARS?...
00:28:10 Unidentified Speaker YES, I WORKED FOR A NUMBER OF BANKS INCLUDING MERRILL LYNCH AND THE FORMER PAIN-WEBER. FOR GOLD MAN...
00:28:43 Unidentified Speaker IN ANY LARGE COMPLEX FINANCIAL BUSINESS WHERE THERE'S A LOT OF MONEY TO BE MADE, YOU'LL ALWAYS HAVE...
00:33:08 Unidentified Speaker THE AVERAGE PERSON SITS HERE AND LOOKS AND SEES THAT A LOT OF POWER HAS COME BACK TO THIS TOWN FROM...
00:33:30 Unidentified Speaker I THINK IT'S A VERY BAD APPOINTMENT.
00:33:31 Unidentified Speaker WHY IS THAT?
00:33:34 Unidentified Speaker BECAUSE TIM GEITHNER HAS BEEN PART OF THE PROBLEM AND NOT PART OF THE SOLUTION.
00:33:37 Unidentified Speaker AS AN INDIVIDUAL?
00:33:38 Unidentified Speaker YES, AS AN INDIVIDUAL. HE HAS BEEN VERY CLOSELY CONNECTED WITH PEOPLE ON WALL STREET.
00:33:59 Unidentified Speaker THE JAMIE USED TO RUN JP. BUT TIM GEITHNER WAS PRESIDENT OF THE NEW YORK FEDERAL RESERVE. YOU HAD...
00:34:59 Unidentified Speaker LET ME GIVE A CONTRARY POINT FOR DISCUSSION PURPOSES. YOU ASK A MAN LIKE HANK PAULSON TO COME IN BECAUSE...
00:35:07 Unidentified Speaker OH, REALLY.
00:35:09 Unidentified Speaker AND THEN HE TAKES IT AND TURNS IT. YOU SAY, WHAT'S REALLY GOING ON HERE? HANK PAULSON, SAYS I'LL...
00:35:19 Unidentified Speaker THAT'S ONE ARGUMENT. BUT THIS MYTH ABOUT GOLD MAN SACKS BEING BETTER AND THE BEST AND THE BRIGHTEST...
00:35:38 Unidentified Speaker IF YOUR OVER IN CONGRESS AND YOU'RE FUND RAISING AND YOU RUN A FINANCIAL SERVICES COMMITTEE AND YOU...
00:35:53 Unidentified Speaker YES. YOU SAY THAT WE PRETTY MUCH HAVE A BLOCKED CONGRESS, BECAUSE THEY KNOW WHERE THE MONEY IS COMING...
00:37:03 Unidentified Speaker THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO WERE IN THIS BUSINESS IN NEW YORK WHO ARE REVERED TODAY. THEY GAVE A...
00:37:41 Unidentified Speaker YOU KNOW, THERE ARE A LOT OF GOOD PEOPLE IN FINANCE. BUT WHAT YOU HAVE HERE ARE, AS I SAY, INTERESTED...
00:39:32 Unidentified Speaker HOW DO YOU FIND PEOPLE THAT HAVE THE PUBLIC'S INTEREST IN MIND?
00:39:38 Unidentified Speaker WE'VE HAD A LOT OF INCOMPETENT PEOPLE AT THE S.E.C. WHO BASICALLY COULDN'T FIND A CREDIT DERIVATIVE...
00:39:47 Unidentified Speaker WHY IS THAT?
00:39:49 Unidentified Speaker WELL, I THINK THEY CAN. BUT A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO GET INTO THESE JOBS ARE POLITICALLY CONNECTED. COX...
00:40:05 Unidentified Speaker WHY DO YOU SAY THAT?
00:40:07 Unidentified Speaker I'D RATHER NOT GET TOO FAR OFF TOPIC.
00:40:11 Unidentified Speaker THE REASON, THE PUBLIC IS BASICALLY DROWNING IN CREDIT DEFAULT SWAPS. DERIVATIVES.
00:40:18 Unidentified Speaker IT'S REALLY MUCH SIMPLER. IT WAS A LOT OF BAD LENDING THAT WAS TOLERATED AND A LOT OF PACKAGING OF...
00:40:51 Unidentified Speaker BUT THESE PEOPLE, BOB RUBEN AND LET'S TAKE HANK PAULSON.
00:40:55 Unidentified Speaker LET'S CONTINUE ON --
00:40:57 Unidentified Speaker LET'S JUST. THEY ARE NOW FIRMLY LOCATED IN INSTITUTIONS IN NEW YORK AND WASHINGTON THAT HAVE A LOT...
00:41:11 Unidentified Speaker THEY'RE --
00:41:14 Unidentified Speaker I'M TALKING ABOUT THE COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS.
00:41:17 Unidentified Speaker LET'S CONTINUE WITH THE GOLDMAN MYTH AND BOB RUBEN FOR A SECOND. AFTER THE ENRON CALL, NOW WE FAST...
00:43:24 Unidentified Speaker TODAY, ALL THESE BANKS ARE TELLING US THEY'RE MAKING PROFITS NOW AND THEY'RE BETTER THAN THEY EXPECTED...
00:43:35 Unidentified Speaker I'LL GET TO THAT IN A MINUTE. WE'RE BEING LIED TO AND I'LL EXPLAIN IN A MOMENT. BUT GETTING BACK TO...
00:44:28 Unidentified Speaker A LOT OF FOLKS YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT IN NEW YORK CITY GIVE A LOT OF MONEY TO CHARITY. DOES THE MEDIA...
00:44:38 Unidentified Speaker I DON'T KNOW WHY THEY'RE LAYING OFFER OF THEM. I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER.
00:44:45 Unidentified Speaker HAVE THEY IN THE BAST? THEY MAKE ALL THIS MONEY AND GIVE IT AWAY AND THEY'RE NOT LOOKED AT CLOSELY?...
00:44:52 Unidentified Speaker THEY'RE NOT LOOKED AT CLOSELY AND THEY SHOULD BE. I DON'T KNOW WHY THE MEDIA WOULD BE IMPRESSED WITH...
00:45:08 Unidentified Speaker THE MEDIA AND NEW YORK OFTEN SERVES ON THE SAME BOARDS.
00:45:12 Unidentified Speaker BUT SERVING ON THE BOARD DOESN'T NECESSARILY MEAN YOU'RE COMPROMISED. BUT THE -- THERE IS SOMETHING...
00:45:40 Unidentified Speaker BY THE WAY, LARRY SUMMERS WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT HIM?
00:45:46 Unidentified Speaker LARRY SUMMERS IS ONE OF THE PROPONENTS OF DOING AWAY WITH GLASS SPIEGEL. AND THAT IS BIPARTISAN. ...
00:46:08 Unidentified Speaker EXPLAIN THAT.
00:46:11 Unidentified Speaker BASICALLY, THEY ALLOWED BANKS TO GET INVOLVED IN WHAT USED TO BE CALLED INVESTMENT BANK ACTIVITY....
00:47:08 Unidentified Speaker LET'S GO BACK TO THE AVERAGE PERSON'S SAVINGS IN BANKS. THEY'VE LOT A LOT IN THIS PROCESS. THEIR...
00:47:29 Unidentified Speaker I DON'T BELIEVE THAT ANY OF THOSE INDIVIDUALS DID ANYTHING OUTRIGHT ILLEGAL BECAUSE OUR CONGRESS DIDN'T...
00:47:39 Unidentified Speaker WHAT I WAS GETTING AT, IF YOU'RE IN THEIR SHOES, THEY SIT THERE AND SAY, I'M NOW SERVING MY GOVERNMENT,...
00:47:57 Unidentified Speaker WELL, YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT IS THE UNDERLYING INSTITUTIONS THAT HANK PAULSON WAS HE HAD OF GOLDMAN SACKS...
00:48:34 Unidentified Speaker IF PRESIDENT OBAMA CALLED YOU TO THE OVAL OFFICE AND GAVE YOU AN HOUR AND SAID, TELL ME WHAT I SHOULD...
00:48:49 Unidentified Speaker NO ONE HAS -- RESPONSE.
00:48:52 Unidentified Speaker NO 21 HAS A MAGIC BULLET ANSWER. THE THINGS WE NEED TO DO ARE THE THINGS, GETTING BACK TO PRUDENT...
00:49:34 Unidentified Speaker MY NEIGHBORHOOD BANK, THEIR INTEREST RATES ARE SO LOW YOU MIGHT WANT TO GIVE THEM THE MONEY. THEY'VE...
00:49:49 Unidentified Speaker ISN'T THAT INTERESTING. THERE ARE A LOT OF SOLID BANKS. WE HAVE THEM IN CHICAGO AS WELL. NORTHERN...
00:50:30 Unidentified Speaker WE'RE RUNNING OUT OF TIME. YOU'RE IN THE OVAL OFFICE. GIVE ME SPECIFICS TO SAVE THE SITUATION.
00:50:37 Unidentified Speaker LOOKING AT THE BANKS NOW, I WOULD LOOK AT THE STRESS TEST WITH A JAUNDISTED EYE. WE MAY HAVE TO PUT...
00:50:54 Unidentified Speaker WHEN IS IT GOING TO HAPPEN?
00:50:55 Unidentified Speaker I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY.
00:50:56 Unidentified Speaker WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
00:50:58 Unidentified Speaker THEY ARE TRYING TO SEE WHICH BANKS ARE SOUND AND WHICH AREN'T SOUND. THERE'S A LOT OF WHINING GOING...
00:51:52 Unidentified Speaker BY THE WAY, JAMIE, YOFF A QUOTE IN FRONT OF ME, SAYING TODAY -- THIS IS ON THURSDAY, THAT HE WANTS...
00:52:07 Unidentified Speaker I DON'T KNOW WHY JAMIE WANTS TO GIVE THE MONEY BACK SO QUICKLY. BECAUSE THAT MONEY WAS MEANT TO BE...
00:52:57 Unidentified Speaker DOES THE PUBLIC HAVE ANY RESPONSIBILITY?
00:52:59 Unidentified Speaker YES. THE PUBLIC OF COURSE ALWAYS HAS RESPONSIBILITY. BUT DO THEY HAVE IN POWER? BECAUSE WE ARE BEING...
00:53:47 Unidentified Speaker WHEN YOU'RE NOT WRITING BOOKS, WHAT KIND OF CLIENTS DO YOU REPRESENT?
00:53:51 Unidentified Speaker MAINLY SOME OF THE KINDS OF PEOPLE WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT RIGHT HERE WHEN THEY GET INTO TROUBLE...
00:54:04 Unidentified Speaker GIVE US AN EXAMPLE.
00:54:05 Unidentified Speaker I DON'T TALK ABOUT MY CLIENTS IN PUBLIC OR NAME THEM. FWU KINDS OF THINGS AS AN EXAMPLE. IF THEY HAVE...
00:54:32 Unidentified Speaker ARE YOU BEING HIRED BY THESE BIG NAME COMPANIES THAT YOU'VE BEEN CRITICAL HERE?
00:54:37 Unidentified Speaker ANOTHER EXAMPLE IS, LET'S SAY THERE'S A RISK ON THEIR TRADING BOOK AND THEY DON'T KNOW IF THEIR TRADERS...
00:55:01 Unidentified Speaker PUT ANY NAME YOU WANT TO. WHERE DID THE GRADE COME FROM?
00:55:04 Unidentified Speaker WHERE?
00:55:06 Unidentified Speaker WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?
00:55:09 Unidentified Speaker ABOUT A MILLION YEARS AGO.
00:55:11 Unidentified Speaker IS IT WORSE NOW?
00:55:13 Unidentified Speaker THE GREED HAS CERTAINLY ALLOWED TO REMAIN UNCHERKED. AND WHEN YOU GET SOME BAD APPLES IN THARKSE TEND...
00:56:43 Unidentified Speaker WHAT ARE THE CHANCES THAT THESE BIG NEW YORK BASED COMPANIES OR THE POLITICAL INTERESTS IN THIS TOWN...
00:56:51 Unidentified Speaker SO FAR THEY'VE GOTTEN AWAY WITH THE LARGEST PONSI SCHEME IN THE HISTORY OF THE CAPITAL MARKET.
00:56:59 Unidentified Speaker COPET A LOT OF THEIR OWN MONEY.
00:57:05 Unidentified Speaker SO FAR, THEY'VE BEEN GUIDED -- INDICTED -- TWO. IT'S CHUMP CHANGE. IT'S NOTHING. EVEN THAT MAY BE...
00:58:12 Unidentified Speaker JANET TAVAKOLI, BASED IN CHICAGO. SHE HAS FIVE BOOKS YOU CAN BUY. AND THE CURRENT BOOK IS "DEAR MR....

NOTE: The transcript for this program was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.

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