Tales from the Trail

Democrats and Republicans alike on Capitol Hill say they want to toss out the concept of "too big to fail" in the financial regulation reform they are tussling over. That way if a financial firm is going to go under, it will go under, with no thought for a taxpayer handout.

Since the concept of "too big to fail" has yet to be erased by law, and its demise yet to be tested by a failing financial institution, it was interesting to hear how Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank President Thomas Hoenig envisioned the financial industry without that concept to lean on.

Looking back in time -- "If you had a clear resolution process, and you had clear rules on leverage," a domino-like string of large bank failures may have been less likely.

"And if the other institutions were sound but only had liquidity problems, the discount window could have been and would have been used in those instances," he said at a Reuters Global Financial Regulation Summit.

"So, I don't know the counter-factuals, but I know there's a reasonable case to say if the market knows the rules are firm, that the resolution process is under the rule of law, that you will be held accountable, and here are the steps we're going to take, would you have had the same outcome?"

U.S. Representative Barney Frank has never been shy about expressing his opinions. His opening remarks at a hearing he chaired with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Wednesday was no exception. Frank poked fun at a political squabble over healthcare reform as he detailed his position on what to do about non-bank financial firms considered "too big to fail."

    "There will be death panels enacted by this Congress, but they will be for non-bank financial institutions that will not be considered too big to die.
    I say that because we have this euphemism that we are going to be 'resolving' these institutions. It has not been my experience that when someone says they are going to resolve something, they kill it. We are talking about dissolution, not resolution. We are talking about making it unpleasant for the entities. This is not a fate people will want."