Buying into Financial Fix? "Cassandra" Says Don't
Globe and Mail- March 14, 2009
by Boyd Erman

Ask Janet Tavakoli what she thinks of the U.S. government's moves to fix the financial system, and she'll tell you in blunt terms that she doesn't much like what she sees.

“[T]hat was the point of writing Dear Mr. Buffett – to explain thoroughly to people what happened and that it was avoidable,” she said.

“It knocks me back on my heels when I see that some of the people who were the most egregious offenders are raising their hands to help the government,” she said, adding: “It's beyond a joke that this is still festering.”

Ms. Tavakoli pointed out that new no-down-payment mortgages issued under the auspices of government programs are now going into default faster than mortgages from before the credit crunch.


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Janet Tavakoli is the president of Tavakoli Structured Finance, a Chicago-based firm that provides consulting to financial institutions and institutional investors. Ms. Tavakoli has more than 20 years of experience in senior investment banking positions, trading, structuring and marketing structured financial products. She is a former adjunct professor of derivatives at the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business. She is the author of: Credit Derivatives & Synthetic Structures (John Wiley & Sons, 1998, 2001), Structured Finance & Collateralized Debt Obligations (John Wiley & Sons, 2008), and
Dear Mr. Buffett: What An Investor Learns 1,269 Miles From Wall Street (John Wiley & Sons January 2009)

Clients of Tavakoli Structured Finance have the benefit of proprietary consultation, which is not available in any other paid or public forum. Clients also commission proprietary research and analysis.

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