Well, it’s the weekend and it’s open thread time! Whoopeee! Anything exciting going on this weekend? I have to go shoe shopping. I know you’re all jealous.
So let’s get started. I found this really interesting (via Eschaton):
John S. Reed, who helped engineer the merger that created Citigroup Inc., apologized for his role in building a company that has taken $45 billion in direct U.S. aid and said banks that big should be divided into separate parts.
“I’m sorry,” Reed, 70, said in an interview yesterday. “These are people I love and care about. You could imagine emotionally it’s not easy to see what’s happened.”
[…]
Congress’ overhaul of U.S. financial regulations should include ordering banks to hold more capital, ensuring executives’ compensation is aligned with long-term profitability and banning firms that take deposits from also engaging in equities and fixed-income trading, Reed said.
“I would compartmentalize the industry for the same reason you compartmentalize ships,” Reed said in the interview in his office on Park Avenue in New York. “If you have a leak, the leak doesn’t spread and sink the whole vessel. So generally speaking you’d have consumer banking separate from trading bonds and equity.”
Isn’t it interesting how many of these guys are having “come to Jesus” moments now, after they blew up the economy. Well, I hope they aren’t just saying words but will actively help to put some new regulations in place to prevent this from happening again.
Go read this amusing dkos diary about a single activist causing trouble for teabaggers by calling up companies about their use of their name and brand.