It was
an artful if devastating performance. In just seven minutes,
Senator Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts signaled the
arrival of what appears destined to be a powerful force
on Capitol Hill. At the influential Banking Committee,
Senator Warren exposed profound weaknesses with current
market conduct and prudential regulation paradigms. She did
so by focusing on two apparently simple but interlinked (and
exceptionally complex) questions associated with the
governance of major financial firms: can or should too
complex institutions be broken up?
First,
she asked, when was the last time a major Wall Street bank
was successfully litigated against to a conclusion?