In response to banking crises in the 1980s, Congress passed two laws that expanded enforcement powers of financial institution supervisors, including the Federal Reserve. At the time, some observers warned that these new powers would be misused. A careful analysis of enforcement actions taken...

Excerpts from the 2004 book, “Too Big To Fail: The Hazards of Bank Bailouts,” by Gary H. Stern and Ron J. Feldman.

The most persuasive way to convince bank creditors that their bank isn't too big to fail (TBTF) is for policymakers to reduce systemic risk and to communicate those steps to the public.

Minneapolis Fed President Gary Stern warns that banking policy continues to shift too much risk taking onto the public.

A proposed bank merger and acquisition (M&A) provides a unique opportunity to address too big to fail concerns—the problem of big banks taking undue risks due to creditors’ perceptions that government policymakers will bail them out to prevent spillovers from bank collapse. Under a...

Excerpts from Too Big to Fail: The Hazards of Bank Bailouts by Stern and Feldman, forthcoming from Brookings Institution Press.