WASHINGTON — A top White House economic adviser says the Obama administration’s proposed overhaul of financial rules preserves the policy of “too big to fail” and could lead to future bailouts.
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker said Thursday that by designating some companies as critical to the broader financial system, the plans create an expectation that those firms enjoy government backing in tough times. That implies that those financial companies “will be sheltered by access to a federal safety net,” he said.
Lawmakers should make clear that nonbank companies will not be saved with federal money, he said.
Emergency measures by the Fed, Treasury and Congress during last year’s financial crisis created the expectation that the government would step in to protect failing companies and their bondholders and stockholders, Volcker told the House Financial Services Committee.
Volcker said he does not differ with the administration on most of its proposals and takes “as a given” that banks will be bailed out in times of crisis. But he opposed bailouts of insurance firms such as American International Group Inc., automakers’ finance arms and others.
“The safety net has been extended outside the banking system,” Volcker said. “That’s what I want to change.”
He said the administration’s proposal to create a new system for winding down large nonbank companies would make that easier.
