Yeah, ok, the title is dramatic and will never happen.
Nonetheless, if we were truly a nation of laws, it would happen.
The LA Times notes regarding IndyMac depositors over the insurance limit:
The head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. delivered some bad news personally to uninsured depositors who lost money last year when IndyMac Bank crashed and burned, saying an act of Congress is their only hope for recovering their funds.
"When a bank fails, we have to do what's least-cost to our deposit insurance fund," FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair said during a public appearance Wednesday in Los Angeles.
Sheila is correct as far as she goes, but like most government employees, it is what she didn't say that is the problem, not what she did.
The problem lies with the willful and intentional refusal to enforce black-letter law, in this case Title 12, Chapter 16, Section 1831o which says in part:
Each appropriate Federal banking agency and the Corporation (acting in the Corporation's capacity as the insurer of depository institutions under this chapter) shall carry out the purpose of this section by taking prompt corrective action to resolve the problems of insured depository institutions.
"Shall" is a specific term of art in legislation. It allows no discretion and mandates action. "May" and "Can" are two other words of course, and mean what they say - as does "shall."
This section of the law goes on to define capitalization "buckets", each of which represents a level above water, or above zero, of the excess of assets .vs. liabilities for depository institutions.
It also contains plenty of other "shall" directives such as:
Each appropriate Federal banking agency shall—
(A) closely monitor the condition of any undercapitalized insured depository institution;
(B) closely monitor compliance with capital restoration plans, restrictions, and requirements imposed under this section; and
(C) periodically review the plan, restrictions, and requirements applicable to any undercapitalized insured depository institution to determine whether the plan, restrictions, and requirements are achieving the purpose of this section.
