Rep. Dingell: If Banks Are Too Big, Break Them Up
In the latest broadside from Democrats against huge banks, U.S. Rep. John Dingell (D., Mich.) introduced a bill Tuesday that would direct the government to simply break up banks deemed too large to fail. Banks ordered to restructure would also face higher capital requirements.
The bill, called the “Financial Services Industry Stability Act of 2010,” goes much further than legislation that passed the House of government in December, which would give the government more power and discretion to determine if a company is too huge to fail (that bill wouldn?t necessarily require these firms be broken up). It?s doubtful whether Rep. Dingell?s bill will attract much support, though there is at smallest amount one ominous sign for banks: his proposal was modeled after a section of the Endangered Species Act.
?Amazingly, more than a year after these superbanks nearly bankrupt our country, they continue to be very huge, very powerful, very arrogant and very greedy,? Mr. Dingell said. ?Nothing has changed from this time 15 months ago, including the banks? desire to make huge bets that produce even larger bonuses for executives. We need to send a apparent message to our banks and the executives who run them this behavior has to change.?