Stanford UShe traced banks’ protection to the creation of US federal deposit insurance in 1933 and criticised the expansion of safety nets that effectively bail out creditors. International banking rules, including those of the Basel Committee, she said, have been “spectacularly bad” and worsened system fragility, as seen in the 2015 Greek debt crisis.

Admati also cited the 2012 US investigation into HSBC for laundering cartel money, noting that political concerns over financial stability reduced the bank’s fine to “a few weeks of profits.” She urges us all to challenge such systemic failings.niversity professor Anat Admati has warned that the financial sector’s entrenched privileges, weak oversight, and political influence are undermining democratic governance and fuelling populism. Speaking at a political economics conference hosted by Bayes Business School, the School of Policy and Global Affairs at City St George’s, University of London, and the London School of Economics, she argued that “little has changed” since the 2008 global financial crisis.

“Banks are the most powerful lobby in Washington,” said Admati, named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in 2014 for her book The Banker’s New Clothes. “Politicians keep saying banks are friends. No — the problem is bad governance and bad rules. Banks are so coddled they may not even realise it.”

Professor Admati challenged us  to speak out on issues that have such an impact on the lives of so many.

Professor Admati warns us not to coddle our banks

Cartoon: Granger Collection