Quote: " Close some big banks"

Transcript: 'This Week' Economic Debate

• STEPHANOPOULOS: The question, Senator Shelby, is, what is going to create that confidence? What is going to change the psychology of the markets right now? You want to...

• SHELBY: I believe, if we can straighten out the banking system and get banks lending again and get confidence in our banking system -- the American people don't trust the banks. They know -- they're not investing in the banks. The banks aren't lending. And without lending, this -- this country's economy is based on credit, you know, credit to small business, medium-sized business, and that's not happening today.
• We've got to do it, and we've got to do it right. TARP certainly didn't do it. I opposed that; a lot of people didn't. But -- but we can't go down that road again. And what I fear is, is Paulson II or TARP II or TARP III.
  

• STEPHANOPOULOS: Well -- well, we've seen Secretary Geithner and the president say that now we're going to take a middle-ground approach. They've out the beginnings of their plan on the banks. You don't approve of that?

• SHELBY: I don't think it'll work. I think that they've got to close some big banks. They don't want to do it. We're -- we're going down the same road Japan was going down.

• STEPHANOPOULOS: So you're in the same place -- I had Senator Lindsey Graham on the problem a couple of weeks ago. He said we're going to have to close, nationalize some of the big banks.

• SHELBY: I don't want to nationalize them. I think we need to close them...

• STEPHANOPOULOS: So when you say "close," what do you mean by them?

• SHELBY: Close -- close them down, get them out of business. If they're dead, they ought to be buried. We bury the small banks; we've got to bury some big ones and send a strong message to the market. And I believe that people will start investing in banks. People aren't...

• STEPHANOPOULOS: So you're talking Citigroup?

• SHELBY: Well, whatever. Citi's always been a problem child.

Subscribe to EF Hutton via Email

Bob DeMarco is a citizen journalist, blogger, and Caregiver. In addition to being an experienced writer he taught at the University of Georgia , was an Asociate Director and Limited Partner at Bear Stearns, was CEO of IP Group, and is a mentor. Bob currently resides in Delray Beach, FL where he cares for his mother, Dorothy, who suffers from Alzheimer's disease. Bob has written more than 500 articles with more than 11,000 links to his work on the Internet. His content has been syndicated on Reuters, the Wall Street Journal, Fox News, Pluck, BlogCritics, and a growing list of newspaper websites (15). Bob is actively seeking syndication and writing assignments.

Bold Endeavors: How Our Government Built America, and Why It Must Rebuild Now