Former FDIC chair fears deregulation could spur new crisis

The former Chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Tuesday said she is concerned that the current push to deregulate banks could lead to a calamity in the financial system down the road.

Bair, speaking before the Brookings Institution Tuesday, expressed concern with what she sees as reactive policy overcorrections under both Democratic and Republican administrations.

“We had [the Great financial] crisis, arguably the pendulum swung too far in favor of regulation,” Bair said. “But now we’re seeing the pendulum go the other way … so I just fear that we’re going to go too far the other way now and [that will] lead to another crisis, and back it goes.”

Bair, a Republican who was nominated…