Anomalies? Or Triggers?

Eurodollar University · Mar 1, 2021 · 57m

The theme of Making Sense Episode 52 is how an environment reacts to an anomaly. Resilient systems keep these aberrations constrained. But fragile ones can retroactively redefine what had earlier been labeled as an "irregularity", "oddity" or "operational error" to something altogether more unsettling: "cause", "spark", "trigger".

In part one, Jeff Snider continues his multi-week review of historical breaks to the smooth functioning of interbank payment and messaging systems. This time a look at a sequence that led to a week-long disorder to Fedwire in August 1990. Part two, also a…