Rebuild Financial Institutions and Confidence

With an end to the financial crisis nowhere near, President-elect Obama must immediately assert leadership in developing an economic recovery package and in overseeing how the Treasury Department implements the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. The new administration has an opportunity to restore confidence in the U.S. economy through greater transparency in how the financial system works and through new regulations that help assure that such a crisis will not happen again.

On December 11, Brookings hosted the sixth of 12 events to provide timely policy recommendations and political advice to the incoming president and his transition team. Brookings Senior Fellow Martin Baily offered policy solutions and priorities for the president-elect on the financial meltdown and the struggling housing market. He addressed how, beyond the passage of the immediate stimulus package, there is much to be done to rebuild both the financial markets themselves and investor confidence in those markets. Bailey was joined by Brookings Senior Fellow Alice Rivlin and Former FDIC Chairman Donald Powell. Fortune Editor Allan Sloan provided introductory remarks and moderated the discussion.