IBC Bank & Commerce Bank Keynote Speaker Series at TAMIU Explored Financial Stability and Crypto Innovations

Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) hosted Professor Hilary J. Allen, a Professor of Law at the American University Washington College of Law, for a lecture on financial stability and crypto innovations as part of the 2024 - 2025 IBC Bank & Commerce Bank Keynote Speaker Series.

The lecture took place April 9, 2025 in the TAMIU Student Center Ballroom (STC 203).  The lecture was free of charge and open to the public.

In her lecture, entitled "Crypto and Financial Crises," Professor Allen explored the fragilities within the crypto ecosystem, with a focus on Decentralized Finance (DeFi). She explained how its fragilities mirror the fragilities of financial innovations developed in the run-up to the global financial crisis of 2008.

Allen cautioned that crypto innovation will not democratize finance, make finance more efficient, or promote financial inclusion, and argued that – given crypto’s risks – it is therefore bad public policy to support this kind of innovation.

In particular, she emphasized that the integration of crypto into the traditional financial system is likely to make the system highly fragile, and argues for a firewall between crypto and traditional finance.

Professor Allen is a nationally recognized expert in financial stability regulation, having authored over 15 law review articles on the topic, with recent works published in the Boston College Law Review, George Washington Law Review, and Harvard Business Law Review.

Her recent work has focused on threats arising from climate change and the increasing prevalence of fintech, as well as adapting the structure and scientific/technological capacity of financial regulatory agencies.

Allen stresses the importance of financial stability by underlining the human consequences of financial crises and considers a variety of existing and evolving threats to financial stability.

She has testified before the House Financial Services Committee and the Senate Banking Committee and is the author of the book, "Driverless Finance: Fintech’s Impact on Financial Stability" (2022, Oxford University Press).

Allen is also actively involved in presenting scholarly publications at roundtables and conferences and regularly contributes blog posts and podcasts on the subject of financial regulation.

Allen received her Bachelor of Laws from the University of Sydney, Australia, and her Master of Laws in Securities and Financial Regulation Law from Georgetown University Law Center, where she graduated first in her class and received the Thomas Bradbury Chetwood, S.J. Plaque.

Prior to entering the academy, Allen spent seven years working in the financial services groups of prominent law firms in London, Sydney, and New York (most recently at Shearman & Sterling LLP in New York). In 2010, she worked with the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, which was appointed by Congress to study the causes of the 2007 – 2008 financial crisis.

The lecture was followed by a Q&A session, providing attendees the opportunity to engage directly with Allen on the issues discussed. Those unable to attend in person could watch a livestream.

For more information, contact Amy Palacios, associate director, Center for the Study of Western Hemispheric Trade, at 956.326.2820, email cswht@tamiu.edu, or visit offices in Western Hemispheric Trade Center, room 221.  Additional information is also available at https://www.tamiu.edu/cswht/.  

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