Shadow banking. The name alone sounds ominous -- and it should. Operating out of the spotlight of regulation, the shadow banking system could, given the right conditions, leap from its dark, financial hiding place and bring the U.S. economy to its knees, just like it nearly did in 2008.
Washington's efforts at financial reform keep having strange and unintended consequences. In response to a law that was meant to lower excessive debit card transaction fees on merchants, Visa and Mastercard found a way to raise the fees on a host of small businesses.
This week, the government took a big first step toward shutting down the Can't Lose Room in the Wall Street Casino. It's now one comment period away from enacting the Volcker Rule, which limits the kinds of risky investments banks can make with money insured by the U.S. taxpayer.
Some top financial institutions are moving surprisingly quickly to change how they operate. Question is: Did the financial reform law force their hands, or is this just a good time for big banks to rethink their business?
The U.S. Senate voted Thursday to pass the most sweeping overhaul of financial regulations since the Great Depression, handing President Barack Obama a key election year victory.
Congressional Democrats are aiming for a final vote on the financial reform bill soon, which they say will prevent future financial meltdowns like the one that plunged the economy into a devastating recession.
Democrats moved a step closer to passing a Wall Street reform bill -- and handing President Barack Obama an election-year victory -- after securing the support of three Republican senators: Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, both of Maine, and Scott Brown of Massachusetts.
Nearly two years after the U.S. banking system imploded, House Democrats passed a financial regulatory reform bill intended to avoid the calamity's recurrence. The Senate delayed action on the bill as Dems try to muster the needed votes.
The Senate is expected to begin voting on amendments to the hotly contested financial reform bill Tuesday afternoon. The bill would create a new consumer protection watchdog within the Federal Reserve; increase federal bank supervision; and end "too big to fail" bailouts.