An Interview with the FDIC's Sheila Bair

Last night I had the privilege of discussing the state of the banking industry with distinguished FDIC chair Sheila Bair. One interesting highlight was her comment that commercial real estate loans remain a "looming problem" on banks' balance sheets. She expects this area to be a driver for bank failures through the remainder of this year and into 2010. And she remains firmly opposed to the idea of a single super regulator. Incidentally, I still think she's absolutely right about needing competition among the regulators, with various checks and balances. The Fed has not earned its uber-regulator status.