Hawke warns on US bank over-regulation

WASHINGTON, DC – Outgoing US Comptroller of the Currency John Hawke has charged that US banks are over-regulated. Speaking at the American Bankers Association (ABA) convention in early October, he accused federal regulators of imposing insurmountable regulatory costs on banks operating in the US.

Hawke doubted whether the consumer protection regulations actually provide enough benefit to consumers, to justify the cost burdens they impose on banks. He said consumers receive more information – whose production is costly – than they need to, in order to make correct decisions about their investments.

But Hawke equally blamed the ABA members for failing to denounce abusive practices by some