Table of Contents
I. Strengthening the resilience of the biggest US banks 3
II. First things first: Getting the first line of defense right 5
III. Equity-driven incentives: A stronger second line of defense 7
IV. Using plain English to assess the need for the debt shield 12
V. The debt shield: A new third line of defense 13
VI. Conclusion: Maintaining economic perspective 15
Appendix: Modeling the frequency of bank failures 16
Disclosures 19