What We Do
The Center for Financial Markets conducts research and constructs programs designed to facilitate the smooth and efficient operation of financial markets—to help ensure that they are fair and available to those who need them when they need them.
Our Programs
Capital Access in the US
Financial capital fuels businesses and shapes the livelihoods of the population.
20%
Only 20 percent of businesses in the US are minority-owned despite the fact that minorities make up 40 percent of the population.
52.3million
Americans live in economically distressed communities. Between 2000 and 2015, more than half of these communities experienced a decline in jobs.
2/3
Over two-thirds of job growth comes from small businesses, for whom the most important variable for success is access to capital.
Featured Reports
Read More ReportsFeatured 2023 Public Finance Forum Playback Sessions
Explore Our Stories from the Field Collection
Our Featured 2022 Global Conference Livestream Panels
Our Featured Public Finance Forum 2022 Videos
Watch All VideosOur Featured Global Conference 2021 Videos
Watch All VideosThis case study provides a deep dive into Ghana's Daakye securitization program and the lessons learned from this innovative financing approach.
Read the ReportAron Betru, Director of the Center for Financial Markets, appears on Yahoo Finance to discuss the impact the coronavirus pandemic has had on minority-owned small businesses.
WATCH NOWThe Center for Financial Markets joined the Center for Regional Economics, Center for Strategic Philanthropy, and the Innovative Finance team to address the financing needs of America’s infrastructure.
LEARN MOREThe Milken Institute’s Mike Piwowar joins a panel of industry experts to discuss the rise of FinTech and crypto across the Middle East.
WATCH NOWOur blueprint for administrative reform details an effective plan for the housing finance system—keeping Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in conservatorship, while ensuring the continued operation of the overall system.
READ THE REPORTAlmost a decade after the passage of the Dodd-Frank Act, what keeps bankers awake at night is not regulation by Washington, but competition from Silicon Valley. At first, competitors took the form of financial technology startups, whose avowed aim was to relegate the banks to the ash heap of history. The real threat, the bankers are coming to recognize, is big tech, not FinTech.
READ ARTICLEAron Betru, managing director of the Center for Financial Markets, speaks to Africa 54's Linord Moudou about the steps the continent could take towards economic recovery in light of the pandemic.
WATCH THE VIDEOIn the Milken Institute Review, Aron Betru and Ragini Chawla consider the effectiveness of PPP and how it could better fulfill its original purpose.
READ ARTICLEIs figuring out how to implement Opportunity Zones, an admittedly arcane initiative, worth the effort? Center for Financial Markets’ Dan Carol and Ragini Chawla address this question in relation to post-COVID recovery.
READ ARTICLEIn The Wall Street Journal, executive director Michael Piwowar explains why it's time to re-evaluate the length of the securities-transaction cycle.
Read the ArticleCenter for Financial Markets director Dan Carol on how the US Economic Development Administration can improve the infrastructure system in the United States.
Read the ArticleCenter For Financial Markets managing director Aron Betru offers 11 ideas to improve capital parity for minority-owned business enterprises.
Read the ArticleOur Team
David Talbot, PhD
Director, MI Finance
Dan Carol
Senior Director, Center for Financial Markets
Maxwell DeGregorio
FinTech Associate
Troy Duffie
Director, MI Finance
Cheryl L. Evans
Director, MI Finance
Kristen Fanarakis
Director, MI Finance
Rachel Halfaker
Associate Director, Center for Financial Markets
Alison Harwood
Senior Fellow, International
Kevin Hassett, PhD
Managing Director, Economic Mobility
Sarah Ortner
Senior Associate, Center for Financial Markets
Michael Piwowar
Executive Vice President, Finance
Savannah Richardson
Associate, Center for Financial Markets
Blair Smith
Senior Director, Financial Markets
Mairead Treanor
Associate, MI Finance
Nicole Valentine
Director, FinTech