We will never stop the international banks at the international level. We need to curtail them at the national level. And we can't afford to wait for other countries; we have to do it for ourselves.
In 2006 Robert Rubin and his allies created the Hamilton Project to formulate a Democratic agenda. It was a brilliant tactical move, but unfortunately, financial reform was not on this agenda.
Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit will appear before the TARP oversight panel today. And, let's face it, if you want to expose Wall Street's hubris, mismanagement, and executive incompetence Citi is the low hanging fruit.
The campaign to convince people that Treasury is serious about banking reform -- led sometimes by President Obama -- suffered a major blow today on Capitol Hill.
There is little fiscal policy can do that would have effects fast enough on the jobless rate. But ever so quietly, you get the impression the Obama team itself is not so very unhappy -- they know the jobs will come back.
Big banks have a funding advantage -- the implicit government guarantee makes it easier for them to raise capital and cheaper for them to borrow money. They will always only become larger.
Paulson honestly believes that the financial sector as constructed is productive, makes sense, and should continue to operate in roughly its current form.
We need a simple speech and a direct speech -- most of all a political speech -- about what exactly happened to our financial system. Thursday, hopefully, we should finally get the speech.
Existing economic self-policing mechanisms are badly broken in Europe. The eurozone can only survive if there are effective monitors and appropriate penalties for fiscal and financial transgression.
This legislative cycle for financial regulatory reform is almost lost already. But the broader process of moving the mainstream consensus around banking and its dangers has only just begun.
Senator Ted Kaufman (D., DE) gave a devastating speech in the Senate on "too big to fail" and all it entails. A long public silence from our political class was broken -- and to great effect. Today's Dodd reform proposals stand in pale comparison to the principles outlined by Senator Kaufman. And yes, DE stands for Delaware -- corporate America has finally decided that its largest financial offspring are way out of line and must be reined in.
Did big banks break the law during our recent global debt-fuelled boom? The usual answer is: no - they just took advantage of loopholes and captured ...
The latest revelations regarding the Goldman-Greece relationship clearly indicate that Goldman was a lead manager of Greek debt issues in spring 2002, i.e., when Mr. Draghi was on board.
Paul Volcker is still pressing hard for the Senate to adopt some version of both "Volcker Rules." It's an uphill struggle, so expect a firm yet polite diplomatic offensive from his side.
There's a big problem with relying on subtle regulators. Over the past thirty years, almost all our regulators have become either sleepy or captured by those they are meant to watch over.
There's no doubt that during the coming months many people will advocate some form of a Canadian banking system in America. Our largest banks and their lobbyists on Capitol Hill will love the idea.
Once you understand that the resolution authority is an illusion, you begin to understand that the Dodd legislation would achieve nothing on the systemic risk and too big to fail front.
If a megabank shut-down under pressure was impossible for our policymakers last year, how exactly will the situation change after the Dodd bill passes?
Senator Chris Dodd has good political antennae. He knows that his financial reform bill will come under severe pressure because it has a weak heart -- the provisions that deal with "too big to fail" are simply "too weak to make any sense."
(From the author of the book 13 Bankers, out tomorrow) Some people at the top of the administration begin to understand that it makes both economic ...
Goldman Sachs' private equity owns a significant stake in Geely, with the explicit goal of helping that company expand internationally.
Paul Volcker expresses himself in the measured language of a distinguished technocrat. But he is very worried about our current financial structure and where it is heading.
