Issue: Should Banks Get Stiffer Rules to Protect Taxpayers?

The Federal Reserve last week agreed to “raise the amount of capital that big banks must hold to prevent their collapse and reduce the threat they pose to the broader financial system,” The Associated Press reported.

But Dennis Kelleher, president of a nonprofit bank watchdog group, was quoted as saying: “The rule … fails to learn the lesson of the most recent crisis and makes the next crisis—and more bailouts—more likely.”

The AP noted that hundreds of U.S. banks received federal bailouts during the financial crisis that struck in 2008 and that the banking industry has been recovering steadily since then, with overall profits rising and banks starting to lend more freely.

Should banks be cut slack, given the economic comeback?  Or should they toe a tighter line, given their history of asking for taxpayer bailouts? Share your thoughts in the comments.