How Big Banks' Fed-First Ethos Can Hurt the Economy

More than a century ago, the nation's leading bankers applied their considerable political leverage to creating a central bank that would act as their backstop in times of crisis. In so doing, they institutionalized "too big to fail," created a "reckless co-dependency" and a Fed-first mantra within the banks that gives ordinary borrowers short shrift in times of financial stress. So says Nomi Prins, author of All the Presidents' Bankers.