Too-Big-To-Fail Banks Back on Senate Agenda

Image by Getty Images via @daylifeSenator Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat who co-wrote a proposal last year to limit the size of banks, plans to hold a hearing today on “new oversight authority to shield Main Street from Wall Street megabank risk,” according to a statement from his office. Former Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair, who has said that governments around the world are propping up a bloated financial system, will be a witness.

Last year’s Dodd-Frank Act gave the FDIC authority to close large failing financial firms, and Federal Reserve officials say new rules will force the biggest banks to boost capital, making failure less likely.

“For too long, Wall Street has been permitted to operate in the dark, putting our economy at risk and leaving taxpayers on the hook,” Brown said yesterday in an e-mailed statement. More...