Sheila Bair

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner got an earful last week from House Democrats wary of the White House proposal to pay for government rescues of Wall Street firms by taxing healthy competitors only after Washington steps in. The critics want companies to pre-pay instead into a kind of sitting insurance fund to be used for the [...]

Testifying before House lawmakers yesterday, Sheila Bair, head of  the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, endorsed much of the controversial proposal to grant the White House new powers to take over Wall Street investment firms when their failure threatens the larger financial system.
A timely, orderly resolution process that could be applied to both banks and non-bank [...]

Did you ever do something that, with the benefit of  hindsight, seemed really, really stupid and you wondered what exactly you were thinking at the time?
Imagine how the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation must feel these days. The same agency that now says it needs to borrow $500 billion in emergency funds to take over failed [...]

The plan for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to streamline mortgage modifications for troubled homeowners has already come in for some harsh criticism. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. chairwoman Sheila Bair, in particular, has been outspoken in her opposition.
That’s important, because Bair is the leading proponent of massive restructurings of mortgages. She wants Treasury to move [...]