Neel Kashkari oversaw the bailout of the big banks. Now he wants to break them up.
(WASHINGTON POST) Â e worked at Goldman Sachs and bailed out the big banks. Now he wants to end “too big to fail.”
He oversaw Washington’s bailout of the nation’s biggest banks. He campaigned for governor of California. He was one of People Magazine’s Sexiest Men Alive.
Now, Neel Kashkari is president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, a position that gives him a voice in steering the course of the nation’s economy, as well as regulating the banking system.
This week, he proposed a radical rethinking of the structure of America’s financial system. In a speech at the Brookings Institution, he argued that the largest banks remain too big to fail and launched a year-long campaign to solicit solutions. Among his ideas: Break up the banks, force them to hold as much capital as utilities or levy a tax on leverage.
The Washington Post sat down with Kashkari to discuss his plans, the risks he sees in the economy and the Fed’s relationship with Congress. This transcript has been edited for length and clarity.