(1) end Too Big To Fail financial institutions;
(2) constrain leverage risk by implementing simple capital requirements;
(3) get the private sector back into mortgage securitization but require them to retain a portion of mortgage risk (skin in the game);
(4) end speculation in credit default swaps; and,
(5) end the revolving door between regulators/Congress and the financial/consulting industry.
Regarding the impending “fiscal cliff” on federal budget and deficit issues, Bair believes that “shared sacrifice must be part of any grand bargain.” Bair has been a Senior Advisor to the Pew Charitable Trusts since leaving the FDIC in 2011.
Bair’s recommendation that Congress focus on quickly getting the rules done for the Dodd-Frank Act are consistent with Woodstock Institute’s calls for implementing financial reforms to protect consumers from the deregulation and toxic mortgages that caused the financial crisis, to reform the mortgage finance system, and to empower consumers through the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. While the broad strokes of financial reform were outlined by the Dodd-Frank Act, the hard work of delineating the specifics of consumer protection regulation is ongoing. Consumer advocates must be closely engaged with the implementation process and ensure that regulators are hearing from more than just industry lobbyists.