FDIC chief warns that cutting bank regulation could be "costly"

The outgoing head of the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has warned that the US financial system could pay a "high price" if the Trump administration cuts regulation of banks too aggressively, according to the Financial Times. "Short-term changes aimed at achieving short-term results in the financial sector could have real costs and in a sense undermine our long-term goals," Martin Gruenberg said. His warning came as President-elect Donald Trump vowed to cut rules and bureaucracy as part of a plan to boost the US economy, while his allies expressed interest in streamlining US financial regulators. Mr. Gruenberg said the US remained vulnerable to the same combination of problems that led to major recent crises, including the savings and loan debacle of the 1980s, the financial crisis of 2008 and regional bank runs in 2023. In each case, deregulation and regulation led to rapid growth in new products and non-bank financial companies that later proved riskier than expected. "It is important that history repeats itself," he said. "I fear we will have to pay a terrible price again."