Senators could approve an amendment to reestablish the separation between banks' commercial and investment operations, Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) suggested.
Warner, a member of the Senate Banking Committee who's been closely involved in negotiations over a Wall Street reform bill, said that while he opposed such a measure, the Senate could get the votes to reimpose the Depression-era Glass Steagall law.
"It may have a chance," Warner said during an appearance on C-SPAN's "Newsmakers" of the chances for passage of an amendment to reimpose the law, which was repealed by Congress in 1999....
Norton's comment: This former law stopped banks from additionally acting as investment bankers. When this was repealed under pressure from the banking and investment lobbies, it opened the door to what is now the credit default swap debacle, the 2008 financial crisis and the worldwide ongoing crisis. Even today Bank of America has been allowed by the FED and the FDIC to maneuver over 50 TRILLION DOLLARS IN derivatives (with nil real value) over to their retail banking system. Why would they do this? Because if they default, FDIC account insurance, OUR MONEY, will cover the default. Another monetization of the financial risks that end up as public debt for corporate irresponsible action!
