A Return to Glass-Steagall?
Increased scrutiny over investment banking deals may be creating more headaches than they are worth ultimately leading to separation between commercial and investment banking.
In many ways the Wall Street investment bank went extinct in 2008 when Bear Stearns and Merrill Lynch were acquired by JPMorgan and BofA, Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy and Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley petitioned to be declared commercial banks by the Federal Reserve. Still-developing regulatory changes will continue to reshape the industry after the crisis, and one long-time banker is hopeful the investment model could start to resemble its past incarnation, when when being a trusted advisor to clients was the chief concern.
