Should banks become ‘too big to fail,’ asks FDIC chief

Should U.S. banks be allowed to become “too big to fail”?

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Chairman Sheila Bair asked the question in a preview of this coming Sunday’s 60 minutes television news program.

“I think taxpayers rightfully should ask, that if an institution has become so large that there is no alternative except for the taxpayers to provide support, should we allow so many institutions to exceed that kind of threshold?” Bair said in an excerpt of the program, according to Reuters.

She would not comment specifically on institutions such as Citigroup. Such large institutions are “more than a bank” with broker dealer and offshore operations, she said according to the report.