Scott Alvarez, the Federal Reserve Board's general counsel, told lawmakers that the Fed is unlikely to issue clear standards on when it would use Dodd-Frank to take apart big banks that pose a "grave threat" to the economy, each situation would have its own circumstances.
"It's very difficult to have a uniform rule," Alvarez stated.
"As debate in Congress and elsewhere grows about whether stronger methods are needed to limit systemic risks from financial giants, the 'grave threat' authority is a less-discussed element of Dodd-Frank compared with other measures in the law," writes American Banker's Joe Adler.
Under Section 121 of the Dodd-Frank reform law, the provision authorizes the Fed to take certain actions against a large financial institution if the regulator considers it to be a "grave threat."
"A condition of 121 is that we take a variety of steps short of requiring breakup before we're allowed to even consider breaking up the firm," Alvarez told the House Financial Services oversight subcommittee.
For the full piece see "
