Checking on banks

Anne M. Khademian

Anne Khademian argues that downsizing government activities through consolidation does not guarantee better performance. Consolidation implies agreement on the best way to perform a task, but each of the three banking agencies has a unique management style and level of autonomy growing out of its history and politics. For example, the Fed has a high level of expertise and autonomy, the OCC is known for innovation, and the FDIC places priority on examiner training. Khademian maintains that the jurisdictional overlap among the agencies reflects an essential tension between accountability and autonomy. And a new consolidated agency would destroy that tension. . Khademian contends that in the rush to consolidate, we might destroy administrative systems that have real benefits or provide important lessons about implementing government programs and risk creating new "super agencies"...

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