Candidate Sanders says U.S. Fed 'hijacked' by bankers

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders lambasted the Federal Reserve on Wednesday as an institution that has been "hijacked by the very bankers it regulates" and called for banning bank executives from regional Fed governing boards.

The populist Sanders last week criticized the Fed's decision to raise interest rates and acknowledged proudly in a Saturday night debate that Wall Street won't like him in the White House.

"Wall Street is still out of control," Sanders wrote in a New York Times opinion piece.

Seven years after large U.S. banks were bailed out by the Treasury Department because they were too big to fail, the banks have become even bigger, leaving taxpayers at risk of another bailout, he said.

"To rein in Wall Street, we should begin by reforming the Federal Reserve," Sanders wrote. "Unfortunately, an institution that was created to serve all Americans has been hijacked by the very bankers it regulates."

more

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-sanders-idUSKBN0U61HN20151223