FDIC and BoE Agree to Let Shareholders Take Losses in Failing Banks in Order to Protect Tax Payers

“U.S. and U.K. regulators unveiled a plan for dealing with failing global banks that will allow them to fire senior executives as well as force losses on shareholders to protect taxpayers.

“A resolution strategy for a failed or failing globally active, systemically important, financial institution should assign losses to shareholders and unsecured creditors, and hold management responsible,” according to a paper jointly released by the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Bank of England in London today.

Global regulators are working on ways to handle the failure of large international banks to avoid another crisis like the one inflamed by Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.’s bankruptcy in 2008 that led to taxpayer bailouts. BOE Deputy Governor Paul Tucker said the joint paper is a “significant step” toward solving the issue…”

Full article