thanks for this. very helpful.

What disturbs me at present is that we still, as of yesterday, have CBC reporters parroting officials who say 'Canadian banks are in good shape', even though firewalls between banking and insurance remain dismantled and even when our banks/insurers continue to invest in the same junk as the US banks.  One of the main reasons our banks are still alive is that the Bank of Canada via the taxpayer took on their toxic junk debts.  Otherwise our banks would have been in deep trouble as well.

Yet, as you've noted here, nothing substantial has changed in the US financial regulatory structure which the Harper government is tagtailing, rather the opposite as the public Treasury department and other public agencies take a back seat to the public-private Federal Reserve board 'regulators', who are predominantly industry bankers at the state level.  Foxes in destroyed henhouse get bailout money to destroy the whole farm.

What's to prevent deterioration of the foxes as well as the farm when the bailout joyride ends? 

And what's left?  How long can this go on?

At some point we're going to find ourselves in a position of being unable to keep bailing out bankers.  Then we'll have to take over the private banks as public institutions.  You'd think the bankers would realize that sensible regs is a better option for them.  Maybe they're just trying to squeeze out as much as they can now before they get retired.