Wonkblog: Hillary Clinton may be ready to break up the big banks
Wonkblog: Hillary Clinton may be ready to break up the big banks
If nothing else, the tone of the proposals may allay concerns among some liberals about Clinton's connections to Wall Street. Many of her advisers previously held posts in finance. Clinton, facing increasing pressure from liberal Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in the Democratic primary, has advanced a range of liberal positions recently, including the tough approach to Wall Street, opposition to the Asian trade pact and opposition to building the Keystone pipeline.
Clinton stopped short of calling for the restoration of the Glass-Steagall law, which barred banks from conducting ordinary commercial banking alongside riskier investment banking until her husband repealed it. O'Malley and Sanders have called for the law to be reinstated, which would force large banks to divest.
Eric Scott Hunsader, the founder of of the financial data firm Nanex and a critic of high-frequency trading, dismissed Clinton's proposals as "a ruse," saying the candidate relies on financiers for campaign donations.
The definition of "harmful high-frequency trading" in Clinton's proposal is unclear, Hunsader noted. Dark pools only account for about 10 percent of the total volume of securities traded on a daily basis, and a small fraction of what Hunsader describes as manipulation of unwitting investors.
He argues that conventional stock exchanges, such as the New York Stock Exchange, should not be granted legal immunity from lawsuits brought by frustrated investors, as they are under current law. Without that protection, Hunsader contends, the threat of litigation would prevent what, in his view, is abusive high-frequency trading.
Related:
The Atlantic: Hillary Clinton’s Weak Plans for Changing Wall Street
Paula Dwyer: Clinton's plan on Wall Street protects husband's legacy
Sirota and Perez: Hillary Clinton's Wall Street Policy Being Shaped By Two Bankers
Yahoo Politics: Hillary Clinton doesn’t support revival of Glass-Steagall Act
Democracy Now!: Robert Reich on Glass-Steagall and Bernie Sanders
Clinton: Cooperation, not speeches, is needed to regulate Wall Street
= new reply since forum marked as read
