Volcker questions Fed’s Bear Stearns bailout

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A bit off topic, but worth noting: Former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker (pictured) is raising questions about the Fed’s rescue of Bear Stearns.

Volcker’s chief questions: Why is the Fed rescuing a non-bank that it does not regulate? Isn’t that a job for Congress? Why is the Fed guaranteeing bad loans? The Fed regulates -- and lends to -- banks, not investment houses.

Volcker calls the Bear bailout ‘... a new departure. And at some point, the government ought to — in my view, the government ought to be taking responsibility for that kind of action, not the Federal Reserve, which is an independent agency designed to provide an ample supply of liquidity to the economy but not too much, protect against inflation, not to protect particular sectors of the economy from bad loans.

In other words, rescuing companies other than banks, and guaranteeing bad loans, is a job for Congress and the White House. You want to bail out Carlyle Capital, or Chrysler or K-Mart? Go ahead, knock yourself out. Just don’t ask the Fed to do it, because it’s not their job.

Of course, potentially catastrophic failure was imminent and the Fed evidently felt it couldn’t wait. Volcker: ‘… They stepped into a vacuum, and I think quite appropriately, it’s a judgment they had to make. But is this what you want for the longstanding regulatory support system? My answer is no.’

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Photo credit: Associated Press