The usual suspects are back to their old tricks, given new life by gullible voters whose memory of bailouts is like the will-of-the-wisp..First, it would let large banks hold on to certain risky securities until 2019, two years longer than currently allowed. It would also prevent the Securities and Exchange Commission from regulating private equity firms that conduct some securities transactions. And, finally, the bill would make derivatives trading less transparent, allowing unseen risks to build up in the system...Here’s the game plan for lawmakers eager to relax the nation’s already accommodating financial regulations: First, seize on complex and esoteric financial activities that few understand. Then, make supposedly minor tweaks to their governing regulations that actually wind up gutting them...Taxpayers may be on the hook for bailouts, therefore, if losses occur in the banks’ derivatives books...it is remarkable to watch the same financial institutions that almost wrecked our nation’s economy work to heighten risks in the system. The truth about Dodd-Frank is it’s pretty moderate and pretty compromised already, Mr. Stanley of Americans for Financial Reform said. Any further compromise and it tends to collapse into nothingness. Which is exactly what Wall Street seems to be hoping for. So the Repubs in Congress give Wall Street what it wants, rake in the campaign contributions and post-politics lobbying jobs, another panic ensues, and taxpayers bail out the too-big-to-fail banks again. Wash, rinse, repeat
Posted on: Sun, 11 Jan 2015 22:17:06 +0000
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