The entire regulatory system encourages mega-banks. The entire “too big to fail” concept encourages it. Complex regulations benefit those who can afford the legal costs of compliance. Dodd-Frank probably made this outcome more likely.
The role of the government in letting this happen has been under-covered so far. Weren’t they supposed to be overseeing things, stress-testing banks, etc? Regulators either were not looking, or were looking but did not notice. Regardless, there is not much sense to the argument that the government is “stepping in” tonight, because it was always involved.
Has nothing to do with flooding the world with cheap money which chased unrealistic yields. Systemic excess liquidity when deposited needs excess assets to balance. Assets which were bought at inflated prices. The question now is only how much will this house of cards collapse.
The role of the government in letting this happen has been under-covered so far. Weren’t they supposed to be overseeing things, stress-testing banks, etc? Regulators either were not looking, or were looking but did not notice. Regardless, there is not much sense to the argument that the government is “stepping in” tonight, because it was always involved.