Finance-Bill Proposal Worries Banks

Source: Wall Street Journal

A proposal gaining ground on Capitol Hill to force banks to spin off their derivatives-trading operations would represent a severe blow to one of Wall Street's most profitable businesses.

Banks took in about $20 billion in revenues in 2009 on trading of derivatives, according to industry estimates of the size of the market for financial contracts tied to other assets, such as oil or mortgages.

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Critics have blamed derivatives as a culprit in the credit crisis, saying the lightly regulated and opaque markets froze up when traders feared some firms wouldn't be able to make good on their promises.

The derivatives legislation would boost federal oversight and transparency of the market. The most controversial proposal is the provision to force banks that are eligible for financial assistance from the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to spin off their derivatives-trading desks.


Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704464704575208522431096734.html?mod=WSJ_WSJ_US_PoliticsNCampaign_2

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The media, of course, is completing protecting and obscuring the efforts of Republicans to protect Wall Street, and allowing them to spin their effort TO PREVENT DEBATE as an effort at bipartisanship.

They ought to be grateful that the government has graciously allowed them the privilege of staying in business with billions in no-strings attached bailouts.

Banksters should be in jail. Reining in their immoral and illegal excesses is chump change.

if they did not do anything wrong... they shouldn't have to worry, right Freepers!