December 13, 2016

Brown Statement on Big Banks' Revised 'Living Will' Bankruptcy Plans

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) – ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs – issued the following statement today after the Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation announced their joint determination on how the nation’s largest banks revised their plans for how they would be dissolved in a crisis without a taxpayer bailout.

“Today’s joint determination is a reminder that Wall Street reform is working to rein in the megabanks that crashed our economy and got bailed out by taxpayers,” said Brown. “Even one too big to fail bank is too many, and we need watchdogs that will continue to impose tough rules and strong penalties to make banks simpler and safer, not the opposite.”

The 2010 Wall Street reform law requires the biggest banks to have credible plans, or “living wills,” to go through bankruptcy at no cost to taxpayers. In April, the Fed and FDIC gave failing grades to five of the largest U.S. banks on their living wills, giving them until Oct. 1 to make improvements or face consequences. The bank that failed to address deficiencies in its plans could now be subject to stronger oversight, including higher capital requirements, or eventually divestment of assets or operations.

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