âI am concerned that the size of some of these institutions becomes so large that it does become difficult for us to prosecute them when we are hit with indications that if you do prosecute, if you do bring a criminal charge, it will have a negative impact on the national economy,..." No..it will have a negative impact on Congress, regulatory and political process. George Bush was scared as hell of Fannie and Freddie, they had the power and fucked up. But that's just my opinion.
Bank stocks should be higher, not lower on the Cypriot confiscation. You can have any country's citizens wake up one morning to a similar confiscation to support financial institutions! That, plus being too big to fail, and getting a free pass on criminal prosecutions from the Justice Department, makes some of these bank stocks the best investments by far. It's all written into law, there's NOTHING depositors can do to keep you from getting at their money. The President of Cypress even helps you, saying this is the "least painful option". Politicians finally working FOR you, not AGAINST you. It may be sad to those who have to pay the bills, but you definitely need to go long the big banks.
If you have a bank deposit you are nothing more than an ordinary creditor to the bank, behind the secured/senior bondholders. It's surprising how few people realise that.