Banking and finance roundup

“Comparing the 2008 financial crisis to the COVID-19 market upheaval” [Stephen Bainbridge, with chart]
Fed has tried getting involved directly in smaller business lending before, and it hasn’t worked out well [George Selgin] “Evaluating Federal Reserve Moves amid Coronavirus Outbreak” [Cato Daily Podcast with George Selgin and Caleb Brown]
Liquidity for you, liquidity for me, but Washington crisis response might have overlooked liquidity for mortgage servicers [Diego Zuluaga, Cato]
“Coronavirus: An Update on Securities Suits and on Updating Company Disclosures” [Priya Cherian Huskins via Kevin LaCroix] “There are likely many more securities lawsuits to come.” [Jim Sams, Insurance Journal]
The flimsy critique of stock buybacks: “Would United be worse off if it had spent $3 billion on dividends instead of buybacks? In each case, United has $3 billion less, and shareholders have $3 billion more that they can invest in something else” [Ted Frank, Washington Examiner]
From before the crisis: George Selgin on Warren Mosler and the great American banking myth; Kevin LaCroix on mootness fees in securities class actions; James Pethokoukis on CEO pay; Diego Zuluaga on bank concentration; Jeffrey Miron on bank bailouts (“It is hard to think of [a solution] so long as people believe government can magically make bank lending safe.”)