SHEILA BAIR
"Having a cop on the consumer financial beat could do wonders. And national standards and rules for mortgages and other products will make a very big difference going forward. But an educated consumer should be the first line of defense; because at the end of the day, it's the consumer who signs on the dotted line."
FDIC chairman, in a speech at a D.C. conference on financial literacy.
EDOLPHUS TOWNS
"There's something rotten in the cotton here. We just need to know the role that all these people were supposed to play. Why didn't they perform? This is what we need to know before we talk about changing and rearranging in terms of regulations."
Congressman (D-NY), after a hearing questioning Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's role in Bank of America's acquisition of Merrill Lynch.
NOURIEL ROUBINI
"To me it's more like yellow weeds."
Head of RGE Global Monitor, refuting the argument that the economy is starting to sprout "green shoots."
THOMAS HOENIG
"Capitalism works only if all competitors are held to the same standard and have equal opportunities to succeed or fail. With too-big-too-fail, capitalism is compromised and equity of opportunity is sacrificed to expediency."
Kansas City Fed president, in a speech at New York University.
ALLAN LANDON
"Unlike most of the banks in the country, we don't battle with our credit union friends."
CEO, Bank of Hawaii, at an investor conference.
ED YINGLING and DIANE CASEY-LANDRY
The legislation "will be the most important and potentially dangerous proposal bankers have seen in their lifetime. At stake, literally, is the future of our industry."
ABA officials, in a letter to members after the Obama administration unveiled its proposal for regulatory reform.
CAMDEN FINE
"Georgia is basically the Chernobyl of banking right now; it's radioactive down there."
CEO, Independent Community Bankers of America.
STEPHEN GREEN
"In this age of markets that are interconnected across both geography and product, it is a fantasy to believe that 'narrow banking' is the way to predictability and stability."
HSBC chairman on calls to separate retail and investment banking.
