“Unconscionable”

Ahead of financial reform legislation that would give the Federal Reserve more regulative authority, Chairman Bernanke says the bailouts of 2009 must never be repeated. “‘It is unconscionable that the fate of the world economy should be so closely tied to the fortunes of a relatively small number of giant financial firms,’ Bernanke said yesterday in a speech in Orlando, Florida. ‘If we achieve nothing else in the wake of the crisis, we must ensure that we never again face such a situation.’ Congress is considering a resolution mechanism for financial firms that are so large or interconnected to other institutions that their failure could damage the financial system. A plan by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat, would allow the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to liquidate a large firm after a panel of bankruptcy judges determines the company is insolvent and with approval of the Fed, FDIC and Treasury Department.”