Beyond providing governance and ethics lessons about a shocking corporate scandal, this Wal-Mart story illustrates why combining commerce and banking is such a bad idea.
Every notable historical battle that's pitted the outraged against the outrageous actions of the oppressors has had its champions. The French Revolution had Marianne, the foreclosure crisis has Senka Huskic.
A warning on too big to fail might not have the same impact if said by the Occupy movement, but when Federal Reserve officials put it in an annual report, it hits home.
First the Republicans pass a bill they must know had zero chance of enactment, misleadingly claiming it will cut the deficit. Even more absurdly, they then compare the Office of Financial Research to Big Brother.
It is precisely because of the confidentiality and security our country offers that so many nonresident aliens deposit their monies in U.S. financial institutions.
Too-big-to-fail stifles economic growth. Oligopolies and asset concentration strangle competition and suppress innovation, job creation and free markets in financial services, as they once did in oil, steel and telecommunications.
Joe Smith could choose a large consulting firm as project team leader only and mandate that this firm pick experts and on-the-ground compliance staff from a wider range of outfits.
Most credit unions outside of the top ten largest institutions do not have the internal systems and personnel to even begin to effectively underwrite and manage commercial loans, large or small.
It may seem like an additional burden to devote much intellectual energy to the federal budget. But business leader engagement is needed to set our fiscal house in order.
