LOUISVILLE, Ky., May 17 (Reuters) – Another Federal Reserve
policymaker o n T hursday called for the break-up of big banks
like JPMorgan Chase & Co, saying that firm’s recent
large trading loss underscores the difficulty of regulating such
banks and the dangers they pose.
“This is why you want these companies to have plenty of
capital,” St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said in response
to questions after a speech to a Rotary Club. “I would back my
colleague (Dallas Fed President) Richard Fisher in saying that
we should split up the largest banks.”
Bullard’s comments echo those of Fisher, who advocates
breaking up the five largest U.S. financial institutions. Fisher
said in the wake of revelations that JPMorgan had reported $2
billion in losses due to derivatives trades that he is worried
that the biggest banks do not have adequate risk management.
Bullard told reporters that his call for breaking up big
banks includes JPMorgan.
“We do not need these companies to be as big as they are,”
he said. The regulatory system would be much simpler if large
firms were broken up, rather than trying to write complicated
rules to capture all of the potential risks at complex firms, he
added.
“It would be simpler to have smaller institutions so that
they could fail if they need to fail,” Bullard said.
The St. Louis Fed president said he supports the principle
underlying the so-called Volcker rule, which is aimed at
preventing commercial banks from making extensive risky trades
on their own account.
“You shouldn’t be taking insured deposits and be
unrestricted in your activities with those insured deposits,” he
said.
Discussing his forecast for moderate economic growth,
Bullard acknowledged U.S. economic data has been mixed recently,
but said it does not point to a loss of momentum in the
recovery, as occurred in 2010 and 2011. Jobless claims below the
400,000 level suggest a labor market that is continuing to
improve, he said.
The Labor Department on Thursday reported 370,000 new
jobless claims for the latest week, unchanged from the previous
week.
The likely economic softness in Europe resulting from the
sovereign debt turmoil is unlikely to seriously dent the U.S.
economic recovery unless it devolves into a full-blown financial
crisis, which is unlikely, Bullard added.
“The direct trade effects are not large enough to really
drag down U.S. growth in a really significant way,” he said.
“It’s a bit of a drag, but not a large drag.”
