Investors have recently focused on the difficulties encountered by the European banks, which hold huge amounts of troubled sovereign debt. However, I am quite worried over the state of the banking system in the United States. The recent changes to monetary policy by the Fed, the attempt by state attorneys general to coerce an onerous settlement over flawed servicing practices, and a continued litigation feeding frenzy have put the domestic banking system at risk. Whatever the legitimate grievances, the desire to both punish the banks and obtain reparations for past practices risks pushing the financial system into a new and immensely damaging crisis.
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