Nothing in Mr. Benham's statement would seem to explain why SEC Chair Gary Gensler perceives a need to reshape the Treasury market.

The Federal Government should focus on potential shocks that may create immediate financial calamity or on intermediate trends that are so obvious that they are discoverable by drawing straight lines.

Here are some risks that seem of obvious import to the financial system, both short and intermediate term: (i) supply chain failures; (ii) energy shortages; (iii) a major cyberattack; (iv) inflation; (v) the federal deficit combined with increasing pressures on entitlements; (vi) a…

One would think investors' alternative to crypto is not putting their money in banks; it is investing in securities. Unfortunately, the SEC's posture on crypto ensured that crypto purchases had to be made outside of the regulated securities brokerage system, and thus without advice from a regulated financial intermediary. As a result, it is not surprising that small investors end up taking their advice from social media because they can't get it from brokerage firms.

Excessive…

The Treasury report is tinged with nostalgia for a world of numerous small banks that did not face material challenges to survive. That world is past; the number of small banks is declining and will continue to decline. The costs of regulation, and of technology, combined with the economies of scale, make small banking a business model on a downward slope that cannot be reversed. Rather than bemoaning the death of that world, regulators should be thinking about how to make transition into…