UPDATE 2-Big bank "break-up" idea gains ground in Congress

[ej510]

* Independent Senator Sanders introduces break-up bill

* Legislation also under consideration in House

* Sanders would give Treasury 90 days to identify firms (Adds Kanjorski, Frank, Miller comments, background, byline)

By Kevin Drawbaugh

WASHINGTON, Nov 6 (Reuters) - An independent U.S. senator on Friday introduced a bill that would give the government the power to identify and break up financial firms that are "too big to fail," an idea that is catching on.

"If an institution is too big to fail, it is too big to exist," said Senator Bernie Sanders in a statement.

"We should break them up so they are no longer in a position to bring down the entire economy," he said.

Thank You Bernie sanders!
Sanders is an independent outside the U.S. political mainstream. But he is not the only one looking at break-ups.

Representative Paul Kanjorski, the Democratic chairman of the capital markets subcommittee in the U.S. House of Representatives, is working on a break-up power amendment.

It would give a new government systemic risk council break-up power, with clearance from the president.

"It's the natural action of capital to grow and exceed. Now we're going to contain it," Kanjorski told CNBC television.

He said large banks oppose his amendment because it would threaten them. But, he said, mid-sized and smaller financial institutions would be helped by it because they would be better able to compete if mega-firms were downsized.

"When the people's money is being used to bail out these large companies ... We certainly have to have someone to tell them what to do in order to save them," he said.

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank said earlier on CNBC that a bill he is working on, which Kanjorski wants to toughen, would let a systemic risk regulator "break up" risky financial firms.

Elsewhere this week, the two largest UK retail banks -- Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L) and Lloyds Banking (LLOY.L) -- got more government aid and agreed to sell branches and businesses to appease European Union competition concerns over state aid.

EU regulators are considering measures to force banks across Europe to sell assets and sometimes even to break up to compensate for massive state aid they have received. Continued...

http://www.reuters.com/article/BROKER/idUSN0618960720091106

[FiveGoodMen]

1. Excellent.

[tosh]

2. At last.

[autorank]

3. Break them up now k*r

The 25% flat rate on credit card interest should be last straw that breaks the camel's back.

Break theses enterprises up now.

:kick:

[anonymous171]

4. GREAT IDEA! nt