The first step is the need to address the very real problem caused by institutions that are too big – or too interconnected – to fail in a disorderly manner. The second involves ways of making the system less procyclical, so that the financial system is less susceptible to exuberant booms and disastrous busts.
In discussing the road back to financial stability and economic prosperity, I want to leave you with the idea that, yes, this is indeed a time of challenge for community bankers, as it is for all Americans, but it also is a time of opportunity.