In the current issue of The American Scholar, University of South Carolina law prof William Quirk looks at the current follies of the banking world and comments:
...American bankers tell us they must be big to compete with state-supported European banks. Andrew Haldane’s October 2012 speech entitled “On Being the Right Size” reports that economies of scale do not exist over $100 billion. American banks were big under Glass-Steagall, and they would be big if Glass-Steagall were restored. And they would not be so fragile. Their balance sheets would not be so complicated. They would no longer be threatened with losses from proprietary trading, market making, and derivatives dealings. Indeed, the trillions of dollars bet on derivatives could well shrivel up were we to remove the implied guarantee that the government will bail out the banks. We did not need bailouts when Glass-Steagall was the rule, but the need for government funds and assistance rose as the banks chipped away at Glass-Steagall: recall Less Developed Country loans (1982–92), Continental Illinois (1984), Citibank (1990–92), the Mexican peso (1994–95), Asian currency (1997), and Long-Term Capital Management (1998).The U.S. government moved heaven and earth to prop up our profligate bankers, and it continues to do so. Now the banks are Too Big to Indict. The Department of Justice won’t proceed against a criminal conspiracy supporting drug dealers and terrorists for fear of harming the economy...
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