Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission

The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC) is acting under a legal mandate to investigate the “causes of the collapse of each major financial institution” that failed or received a government bailout in the panicked days of last fall — and the FCIC intends to act quickly, Chairman Phil Angelides said today.
By the end of October, [...]

The 10 members of the panel named by Congress to investigate the causes of last year’s economic implosion appear to be wrestling with their role in this year’s push for financial industry regulatory reform, judging from their statements at today’s first hearing.
Brooksley Born, who fought unsuccessfully to regulate derivatives during her years at the helm [...]

The 10-member commission appointed by Congress to investigate the causes of the nation’s financial meltdown holds its first meeting this morning. But with momentum for stronger regulation of Wall Street slowing and New York emerging as the center of bailout accountability, the commission may have to forgo Washington’s traditional deliberative instinct in order to succeed.
One [...]

On Monday, Peter Wallison of the American Enterprise Institute slams the proposal for a Financial Products Safety Commission, using a Washington Post op-ed to call it elitist and contend it would limit financial choices to sophisticated consumers.
Are consumers “protected” when they are denied the opportunity to buy products and services that are available to others? [...]

Now that it looks like Congress will create a commission to investigate the causes of the financial crisis after all, the big question is who will be chosen for the heavy lifting. Pack an investigative commission with people who aren’t likely to aggressively dig into what went wrong, and you haven’t really done much, beyond [...]