Golden oldie but once again, Taleb tells it as it is.

He argues that the banks are essentially like utility companies, as they perform essential functions like the safeguarding and availability of your capital and this implies that they simply cannot be entrusted with risk taking.

Risk taking should be limited to special vehicles (i.e. hedge funds) that do not endanger the system and do not need/ask to be bailed out… essential creating a two tier system:

You can see the whole video – Nassim Taleb and Daniel Kahneman: Reflection on a Crisis – here.

I strongly recommend the whole video as is it really fascinating. Furthermore, you get the added benefit of Daniel Kahneman, which is a big treat!

Enjoy!