September 8, 2017 — Nine years ago this month, the US sub-prime mortgage crisis morphed into a severe global financial crisis. Many Americans across the political spectrum angrily demanded financial reform, by which they meant a tightening of financial regulation. Indeed, important reforms were subsequently enacted, in particular the 2010 Dodd-Frank bill.
Today, those reforms are increasingly under assault. Most recently, the Trump Administration is proposing a roll-back of regulation of banks as well as of other financial institutions. The recent decisions of Fed Governors Stan Fischer and Dan Tarullo to retire are also worrisome signs.