Economist to address influence of big banks

Business news story for The Commercial Appeal

April 10, 2010

Is a financial system dominated by giant banking institutions good for business?

Dr. Paul Merski says that’s a question that deserves an answer, and he plans to offer his insights next week in Memphis.

The Rhodes Chapter of the Financial Management Association and the Department of Economics and Business will host Merski’s lecture, “Financial and Economic Outlook: A View from Washington,” on Wednesday.

Merski is the senior vice president and chief economist for the Independent Community Bankers of America, an organization representing 5,000 community banks of all sizes throughout the United States.

“I’ll be looking at where we’ve come from in the past few years with the large financial crisis and the meltdown in the financial sector largely caused by the too-big-to-fail Wall Street banks,” Merski said recently by phone from his office in Washington … (read more)