Beware of Bullish Bankers, Their Bubbles, and the Inevitable Burst

If regulators don’t act soon, we are at risk of another financial crisis.

Police guard the famous bull statue during Occupy Wall Street protests in the Financial District in New York on Sept. 17, 2012. Taming the irrational exuberance of bankers is key to avoiding another crisis, argues Anjan V. Thakor. Mario Tama/Getty Images

Something happens between the bubbles, bailouts, and boom and bust cycles that we can’t afford to ignore, and it’s happening right now in the United States and Europe. It’s a kind of collective amnesia that lulls investors into forgetting exactly what and who caused the last financial crisis.

A kind of collective amnesia lulls investors into forgetting exactly what and who caused the last financial crisis