Congress Mulls '80s-Style Resolution Trust

Sen. Chris Dodd (D., Conn.), chairman of Senate Committee on Banking, and Rep. Barney Frank (D., Mass.), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, have both mentioned the idea of reviving an institution from the 1980s, the Resolution Trust Corporation.

Major Wall Street financial institutions are falling -- consider the Bear Stearns takeover, the AIG (AIG Quote) bailout, the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers (LEH Quote) and the sale of Merrill Lynch (MER Quote) to Bank of America (BAC Quote).

At the same time, smaller banks on Main Street are suffering (with more rumored to come). In short, it's starting to feel like the S&L crisis of some 20 years ago. ...