(saw this posted in the Editorial Forum, and thought I'd post it here!)Volcker Op-Ed: Look out, big banks. Change is coming Paul Volcker, chairman of the president’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board, contributes an important op-ed to today's NY Times. And the message to big banks is clear: Your "too-big-to-fail" ass has been saved for the last time:
The phrase "too big to fail" has entered into our everyday vocabulary. It carries the implication that really large, complex and highly interconnected financial institutions can count on public support at critical times. The sense of public outrage over seemingly unfair treatment is palpable. Beyond the emotion, the result is to provide those institutions with a competitive advantage in their financing, in their size and in their ability to take and absorb risks.
As things stand, the consequence will be to enhance incentives to risk-taking and leverage, with the implication of an even more fragile financial system. We need to find more effective fail-safe arrangements.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/31/opinion/31volcker.html?pagewanted=1 Read more of both Volcker's editorial from Saturday,
as well as writer's op here:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/1/30/832282/-Volcker-Op-Ed:-Look-out,-big-banks.-Change-is-coming