Josef Ackermann, chief executive of Deutsche Bank and chairman of the Institute of International Finance (an influential group, reflecting the interests of global finance in Washington) is opposed to breaking up big banks. According to the FT, he said,

“The idea that we could run modern, sophisticated, prosperous economies with a population of mid-sized savings banks is totally misguided.”

This is clever rhetoric--aiming to portray proponents of reform as populists with no notion of how a modern economy operates. But the problem is that some leading voices for breaking up banks come from people who are far from being populists, such as the UK authorities (in the news today) and the U.S.’s Thomas Hoenig.

The Kansas City Fed's Thomas Hoenig made some news Tuesday claiming that the Fed should tighten "sooner rather than later." This was in stark contrast to NY Fed president Bill Dudley, who echoed the FOMC's line that rates will stay low for an "extended period."

Who to trust?