"Words that make actions speak louder."
Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., is grasping at straws to block Elizabeth Warren’s nomination as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. He’s making a fool of himself, and hurting his party’s political prospects for November. Dodd’s latest foray into bank lobby dirty work came today in a series of inflammatory comments to reporters. Dodd made […]
Nobody seriously disputes whether Elizabeth Warren is the best-qualified candidate to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Everybody recognizes the bipartisan political appeal that Warren has with voters, and Democratic strategists know that no action in their power would play better to the party’s base than a Warren nomination—a vital maneuver ahead of the November […]
International bank regulators have finally agreed to a new set of rules to rein in financial excess, and the reviews thus far are cautiously positive. But the new capital requirements announced today by the Basel III accord are not actually as sturdy as they seem. By relying on definitions that can be manipulated by Wall […]
The Washington Post has published a very silly op-ed by Chrystia Freeland accusing President Barack Obama of unfairly “demonizing” Wall Street. Freeland wants to see Obama tone down his rhetoric and play nice with executives in pursuit of a harmonious economic recovery. The trouble is, Obama hasn’t actually deployed harsh words against Wall Street. What’s […]
Former Citibank Chairman Robert Rubin knew about mounting subprime mortgage losses at his company, but still allowed executives to mislead to Citibank’s shareholders about those losses, according to the SEC. But that same agency wants to let Rubin off the hook for an offense that has sent others to jail, and which contributed directly to […]
3:45 Clearly the best FCIC hearing to date. Tough questions all around. Everybody comes out of it looking bad, bankers and regulators alike, as they should. *********************** 3:30 This hearing is full of surprises. Peter Wallison just presented a very productive set of questions to NY Fed’s Baxter. The discount window is supposed to protect […]
1:20 All done. Lesson: Break Up The Banks. ****************** 1:00 Most of the discussion surrounding too-big-to-fail at this hearing has dealt with a relatively short period in time: the decision to bailout a firm, and what happened right after that decision. This is an important part of the issue, but it’s by no means the […]
Last week, Federal Chairman Ben Bernanke finally acknowledged that his preferred “solution” for ending Too-Big-To-Fail is likely unworkable. When the financial crisis exploded in 2008, top Fed and Treasury officials insisted that they did not have the legal authority to shut down faltering megabanks, leaving them no choice but to resort to massive bailouts. At […]
Ezra Klein has a pretty silly post up about the Wall Street regulation bill and the SEC’s funding. He argues that since the SEC failed miserably in the years leading up to the crisis, it’s absurd to see them getting more funding in its aftermath. Like bloated banks, Ezrak says, bloated regulators are just getting […]
A lot of CNBC anchors do not seem to understand how regulation works. In fact, it seems like the network’s anchors don’t really get how competition works. If you’ve tuned into the business channel this summer, chances are you’ve heard its anchors pushing the ridiculous bank lobbyist mantra that new consumer protections will actually make […]