As demonstrated by the thrift crisis, if many firms are all vulnerable to the same shock, ensuring that these firms are small and numerous won’t necessarily reduce the systemic risk they collectively pose to the financial system. Third, the costs incurred in breaking up such firms also need to be considered. Others have argued in favor of separating commercial and investment banking activities of the large banks. In my opinion, there are shortcomings to re-imposing Glass-Steagall-type activity restrictions. It is not obvious to me that the pairing of securities and banking businesses was an important causal element behind the financial crisis. In fact, independent investment banks were much more vulnerable during 2008 than the universal banking firms which conducted both banking and securities activities. More important is to address the well-known sources of instability in wholesale funding markets and to give careful consideration to whether there should be a more robust lender of last resort regime for securities activities. Evaluating the socially optimal size, scope and organizational structure of financial firms is a complicated exercise, and so is establishing a viable transition path to a system of much smaller banks. It would be helpful in this regard if advocates of the break-up solutions would develop detailed proposals that address the essential questions of how such downsizing or functional separation would be accomplished, and what the expected benefits and costs could be from such a restructuring. The recent financial crisis underscores the importance of financial stability as a necessary condition for a vibrant economy.
Persistent weakness in housing is particularly problematic because it acts as a drag on spending and job creation in an environment in which such weakness can not be easily offset  8  A number of these issues were documented by an interagency task force that included the Federal Reserve and are being addressed through consent orders requiring supervised institutions to remedy deficiencies. 9  When the amount of debt secured by a property exceeds its likely net sales price, a “short sale” can be a less costly alternative to foreclosure. The short sale agreement between the homeowner and lender often grants the lender final approval of the sales price and may release the homeowner from any deficiency. 4  BIS central bankers’ speeches  by other policy adjustments. Housing policy should seek to break adverse feedback loops, promote more economically efficient outcomes in housing and support growth. In recent speeches,10 I have called for a “comprehensive approach” to stabilize the national real estate market and lay the foundations for recovery. I believe this should include measures to improve access to mortgage credit, reduce obstacles to refinancing, lessen the flow of homes into foreclosure through bridge financing and accelerated principal reduction, and to facilitate the absorption of REO back into use as owner- or renter- housing.