The Treasury and the banking industry would like nothing better than to see more credit unions convert to taxpaying banks. This is hardly going to happen if CUs perceive the OCC as an inhospitable regulator of their mutual form.
In a capitalist economy there is one market which is more important than any other - the market for capital. Yet we find a control command center at the heart of the U.S. financial system.
The premise behind proposed changes to money market funds is that a subordinated capital and floating net asset values will prevent "runs." Logic and evidence point to the contrary.
The Volcker Rule attempts to confine banks and their holding companies in a regulatory strait-jacket that is inconsistent with the changing world of finance.
How do we get lenders to reduce credit overlays without jeopardizing the government's ability to hold lenders accountable for misdeeds? Here are some ideas that could break the stalemate.
A lot of the most toxic securities were held in their so-called proprietary trading accounts, but these securities generally weren't traded. So the Volker Rule doesn't address the mislabeled problem.
Let's revert to a much simpler restatement of the Volcker legislative language and then actually put in place a sufficient number of savvy regulators to watch over the proprietary trading practices of the industry.
Who would put a single dollar in an industry that has been put on notice of impending punishment of unknown severity? Telling the voting public to "stay tuned" is tantamount to telling the investing public to stay away.
Policy makers and agency leaders should speak out in favor of simplifying rules and send a signal to examiners that they do not have to be overly conservative.
