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Banks need to have large shareholders on the board that have a direct interest in their performance.

Investment banking is not a business; it is a personal service where bankers work hand in hand with their clients. And it is a service that must not simply be about making bigger and bigger deals that reap rewards for only a small group of executives.

Banks are run by executives, and executives protect themselves, and that does not always mean that banks are going to behave rationally.

Bank of America is the story of some of the most ambitious, aggressive bank builders on the face of the planet.

Banking gives you a glimpse into what makes companies succeed and what makes companies fail.

If a company is profitable, the founder is in control. If it's not, investors are in control.

Banks hold deposits and savings entrusted to them by individuals, by businesses, by governments and by central banks. They put that money to work, helping people to buy homes, for example, or lending to businesses to invest in expansion.

The trade of banks is the buying and selling of interest and exchange.

In terms of companies, they must stand for something bigger. They must be dedicated to something larger than financial results. I reject the Milton Friedman belief that a company's sole responsibility is to the shareholders.

The fundamental problem with banks is what it's always been: they're in the business of banking, and banking, whether plain vanilla or incredibly sophisticated, is inherently risky.