3 Third, as the recent financial crisis has highlighted, risks to the financial system may arise not only in the banking sector, but also from financial firms that traditionally have been outside the regulatory and supervisory framework applied to banking organizations. Under federal law, all banking organizations – regardless of size – are subject to consolidated supervision for safety and soundness purposes.
At a minimum, policymakers must ensure that a similar statutory framework is put in place for all systemically important financial firms organized as holding companies. The agencies responsible for implementing this framework also must vigorously exercise their authority to help ensure the safety and soundness of nonbank firms whose failure could threaten the stability of the financial system.