Indeed, consumer protection and macroprudential regulation might very well be at odds. As Larry Summers remarked to the president, the “airline safety board shouldn’t be in charge of protecting the financial viability of the airlines.”42 That was fair but it begged a further observation. Whereas there are plenty of safety agencies, there are, in fact, no agencies responsible for ensuring the financial viability of airlines or any industry other than banks. Airlines are expected to take care of their own finances. But Geithner and Summers preferred to sidestep the ramifications of that thought.
Savage
