Reuters – Blaming lax regulation for what turn into the worst U.S. financial crisis since the Great Depression, Rep. Barney Frank vowed on Monday to police banks and hedge funds more actively to avoid future financial meltdowns.
Frank, the powerful chairman of the House Financial Services Committee who has been credited with largely shaping the $700 billion bailout plan, also said he expects the cost of to be much less.
Frank said next year’s agenda will include capping runaway executive compensation, imposing restrictions on certain financial instruments and regulating certain areas of the market that are current not restricted.
"It was the lack of regulation that led to this crisis … We have to step in and impose regulations that will not allow this to happen again," Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat, said at a news conference in Newton, Massachusetts.
