Bernanke Urges Overhaul of Bank Regulatory System

Times Topics: Federal Reserve System

“With the financial turmoil abating, now is the time for policy makers
to take action to reduce the probability and severity of any future
crises,” Mr. Bernanke said in remarks to a Fed conference in Chatham,
Mass.


h the financial turmoil abating, now is the time for policy makers to
take action to reduce the probability and severity of any future
crises,” Mr. Bernanke said in remarks to a Fed conference in Chatham,
Mass.

For its part, the Fed has been taking steps to strengthen oversight of
banks and sharpen consumer protections. On Thursday it announced a
sweeping proposal to police the pay policies of banks to make sure
they did not encourage top executives and other employees to take
reckless gambles.

But Congress needs to step in, close regulatory gaps and make other
changes that only lawmakers have the power to enact, Mr. Bernanke
said.

At the top of Mr. Bernanke’s list is a mechanism — along the lines of
what the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation does with troubled
banks — to safely wind down big financial firms whose failure could
endanger the entire financial system.

The costs for such a mechanism should be paid for through an
assessment on the financial industry, not by taxpayers, he said.

Moreover, Congress needs to set up better systems for regulators to
monitor risks lurking in the financial system, he said.

The Obama administration has proposed such action as part of its
revamp of financial rules. Its plan would expand the Fed’s powers over
big financial institutions but reduce it over consumers. Congress,
however, is leery of expanding the Fed’s reach because it and other
regulators failed to crack down on problems that led to the crisis.

A House panel on Thursday approved a piece of the Obama plan, the
creation of a federal agency devoted to protecting consumers from
predatory lending, abusive overdraft fees and unfair rate increases.

Mr. Bernanke also said the Fed was working on rules governing
overdraft protection, reverse mortgages and gift cards."