http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100330/pl_afp/usgovernmentregulatebankingvolcker_20100330181050Failing US financial institutions must face the credible threat of government closure if reforms are to succeed, a key adviser to President Barack Obama said Tuesday.
Paul Volcker, a former Federal Reserve chairman, said reforms being discussed by Congress hit on the "essential elements" of financial reform, but that a strong government arbitrator must emerge with the power to wind down firms.
"There is a clear need for a so-called resolution authority," Volcker told members of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, a Washington-based think tank.
Volcker said that massive government bailouts of a host of banks and insurance giant AIG over the past two years must not be allowed to convince others they can expect a government safety net, and so encourage risky practices, creating a so-called "moral hazard."
Volcker: Commercial banks must be commercial banks
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/volcker-commercial-banks-must-be-commercial-banks-2010-03-30-161300