by John Martin

In a Washington Post op-ed, Blackstone Group CEO Stephen A. Schwarzman explains that legislative efforts singling out the banking industry could bring economic recovery to a halt. He writes:

"...Uncertainties have severely hampered banking executives' ability to plan how to run their businesses or even know what their businesses may include. Predictably, bankers are reacting to this unprecedented uncertainty by becoming conservative and cautious. The result is that there is less lending and less credit available."

Schwarzman goes on to note:

"We need sobriety, rationality, and civility in the discussions on the regulation of financial institutions so that the banks can return in a robust manner to their central role in funding the economy."