Dennis Kelleher said U.S. financial regulation and supervision are being gutted so quickly that the risk of another crisis is rising with little public attention.
He argued the rollback is broadest at the Fed and SEC, where weaker capital rules, lighter supervision and reduced investor protections are steering finance toward Wall Street trading and away from Main Street lending.
Kelleher cited warning signs including 3 of the 4 biggest U.S. bank failures occurring in 2023, shadow banking now larger and less regulated than in 2008, and major Wall Street banks lifting non-bank lending 50% while real-economy lending grew zero.
He also said crypto's roughly $2 trillion footprint and its growing links to banks could amplify instability, while Supreme Court rulings expanding presidential control over regulators may accelerate the pullback in oversight.
The broader stakes, he said, extend beyond investors: Better Markets argues weaker safeguards threaten jobs, savings and capital formation across an economy where the top 10% own about 87% of stock-market wealth.
As Wall Street gets regulatory relief, is America's 'real economy' being pushed into a riskier shadow banking system?
With regulators claiming banks are strong, are we ignoring the warning signs of another 2008-style financial crisis?
With AI entering finance without safety rules, are our savings vulnerable to unregulated algorithmic decisions?
From 2023 Banking Crisis to Main Street Fallout: Why Deregulation Threatens Another Economic Catastrophe
Overview
The report highlights that the financial landscape is highly dangerous due to ongoing trends toward deregulation. Current policies are repeating the mistakes that led to the 2008 financial crisis and even the Great Depression. The financial industry is already under-regulated, and further deregulation could trigger a catastrophic crash, possibly worse than 2008. The 2008 crisis created a 'lost generation' of Americans, with 90% of the population poorer in 2016 than in 2007. This shows that under-regulation leads to severe economic, political, and social consequences, making strong regulation essential for stability.