The Federal Reserve

At the height of the financial crisis, pundits and politicians were telling us all to expect an overhaul of financial regulation that would result in a brand new financial system. Those of us who study such matters knew the term “overhaul” was a bit hyperbolic, but genuine reform was certainly anticipated, and some might argue that Dodd-Frank was that genuine reform. Despite all the ink spilled about the impacts of Dodd-Frank, the post-crisis financial structure fails to look dramatically different than before. If anything, the major change in the post-crisis financial regulatory system is an increasingly powerful Federal Reserve.