Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. chairwoman Sheila Bair on Wednesday told a sometimes hostile crowd of mostly community bankers that increasing the size and profitability of the financial services industry isn’t and shouldn’t be the goal of financial economic policy. “In policy terms, the success of financial sector is not an end in itself, it is a means to an end. It is to support the vitality of the real economy,” Bair said to an American Bankers Association conference that sometimes jeered and heckled her. “What really matters to the life of our nation is create more well paying jobs and enable entrepreneurs to create new jobs.” Bankers at the conference loudly groaned and took issue with her comments that the Dodd-Frank Act is focused mostly on imposing new regulations on big banks and not community institutions.
Jacob Gaffney is formerly Editor-in-Chief of HousingWire and HousingWire.com. He previously covered securitization for Reuters and Source Media in London before returning to the United States in 2009. While in Europe for nearly a decade, he covered bank loans and the high yield market, in addition to commercial paper, student loan, auto and credit card space(s).see full bio
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Jacob Gaffney is formerly Editor-in-Chief of HousingWire and HousingWire.com. He previously covered securitization for Reuters and Source Media in London before returning to the United States in 2009. While in Europe for nearly a decade, he covered bank loans and the high yield market, in addition to commercial paper, student loan, auto and credit card space(s).see full bio