The large banks have too much financial firepower to stand on the sidelines when potential profits sit ripely for the picking.
Instead, Congress and Volcker should craft a plan to rescue Fannie and Freddie. After all, they're the ones that caused this mess, not the banks.
* * * * * J B K * * * * *
San Francisco
Feb. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Five former U.S. Treasury secretaries who have served both Republican and Democrat presidents have jointly called on Congress to implement the so- called Volcker Rule to limit the size and trading of banks.
Banks that benefit from public support via access to the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. shouldn't "engage in essentially speculative activity unrelated to essential bank services," John Snow, Paul O'Neill, Nicholas Brady, George Shultz and W. Michael Blumenthal wrote in a letter published by the Wall Street Journal.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601108&sid=axJA1O4r98Aw
