In the case of the United States, the US Treasury proposal gives the Fed the authority to regulate systemically important institutions, which is part of what it would need to fulfill its macroprudential responsibilities, but it is not clear what additional policy tools – such as regulation of financial institution capital ratios – it would be given.
A lot of people were of the view that the banks just haven’t changed their culture. They expected because Frankfurt was getting more involved in regulation and oversight that they would. But they don’t seem to be afraid of you guys or the Irish Central Bank; why not?