It is important to note that the reforms in insurance and prudential supervision have not yet been tested in difficult times. At the FDIC, we appreciate the importance of continually assessing whether the deposit insurance system and the efforts that accompany it strike the necessary balance between the pursuit of safety and soundness and the need to allow banks to compete and to evolve. This is a constant tension that exists in any financial system in which the government plays a meaningful role. Deposit insurance affects bankers, because you pay for it. In its effects, however, deposit insurance affects everyone that our economy touches.
Deposit insurance is a subject of complex technicalities and of broad public policies.
In a democracy such as ours, any change in how the deposit insurance system operates will be the result of discussion and dialogue. We hope that this discussion and dialogue will occur in the spirit of deliberation, not in the heat of crisis as did the debate that resulted in the reforms of a decade ago. And we are willing to act to take the lead in encouraging that discussion and dialogue, and in fostering a spirit of deliberation. As a first step in that direction, we are sponsoring a symposium on deposit insurance in January. It will focus discussion on the evolving role of deposit insurance in financial modernization and globalization, and it will explore refinements to the current system.