Bank of America Corp. Chief Executive Officer Kenneth Lewis recently said that the US should consider separating commercial lenders from investment banking activities. Lewis made the comment on his way to a meeting with President Barack Obama and other peer US banking chiefs. Asked what he would tell Obama if given the chance, Lewis said it would be that “commercial banks are the fabric of any community in which they operate and we probably need to separate the commercial banks from the investment banking activities.” The remarks may reopen the debate on whether the U.S. should bring back laws put in place after the Great Depression designed to insulate lenders from the risks of investment banking. Bank of America, the biggest US bank by assets, bought Merrill Lynch & Co. in January, helping the largest US brokerage avoid the financial collapse that drove Bear Stearns Cos. out of business.
Popularity: 5% [?]
