United States | Banking deregulation may have ‘gone too far’, says Janet Yellen

(Washington) Deregulation of the banking sector may have “gone too far”, according to US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, in a thinly veiled attack on former President Donald Trump, calling it urgent to “finalize reforms post-financial crisis of 2008-2009.

The difficulties that the banking sector has been experiencing for several weeks “remind us of the urgency of completing the unfinished business”, said Joe Biden’s Minister of Economy and Finance before economists from the NABE (national association for business economics) on Thursday, according to his speech published earlier today.

It should thus evoke the need to “finalize post-crisis reforms, ask whether deregulation has not gone too far and repair the cracks in the regulatory perimeter revealed by recent shocks”.

The Dodd-Frank law was passed after the 2008-2009 financial crisis to better regulate the activity of major American banking institutions, but unraveled in 2018 by former Republican President Donald Trump.

In particular, it had “imposed significant reforms aimed at ensuring that these institutions could better absorb losses and respond to customer demands for credit and liquidity. But the failures of two regional banks this month demonstrate that our business is unfinished,” the minister said.

“Regulatory requirements have been relaxed in recent years. I think it is appropriate to assess the impact of these deregulation decisions and take the necessary measures accordingly,” she said.

She should address “the perennial debate over the appropriate role of government in regulating the financial sector. Waves of financial regulation have often been followed by concerted efforts at deregulation, based on the belief that regulation is inefficient and stifles financial innovation and economic growth.”

But for her, “our prosperity depends on efforts to preserve financial stability before a crisis occurs, just as the implementation of a rigorous fire code can prevent a fire from starting.”

But the field must also be widened, according to Janet Yellen, who considers it necessary to “tackle new areas of risk”.

“We also need to address vulnerabilities in the non-banking sector,” she said, referring to those “financial companies that perform traditional banking functions, but are outside of depository institutions or have only weak ties to banking.” these”, and have “grew considerably over the last few decades”.