Beware of the Risks of Breaking Up Big Banks By Marc Chandler About this article: The financial crisis is usually dated as beginning in the middle of 2007, but officials did not appear to be truly coordinating a response until the failure of Lehman Brothers sent shock waves through the global financial system a little more than a year later. And even then, it seemed like officials simply slashed interest rates at the same time rather than planning and pursuing a coordinated path. In fact, the failure of the U.K. government to support Barclay's attempt to purchase Lehman appears to have estranged the Anglo-American relationship. The lack of coordination is particularly evident in dealing with the "too big to fail" doctrine, or what the British refer to as "too important to fail." In Europe, the policy response that has emerged over the last couple of weeks is that such financial institutions need to be downsized. European and British regulators appear to... Or, call us at 1-866-321-TSCM (8726) Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m. ET. Outside the U.S. and in Canada, call 1-212-321-5200. More Stories From RealMoney Durable Goods Up Move Down the Tech Food Chain Jobless Claims Still High Bulls' Tenacity Is the Big Question Mark Should You Buy It? Pharmaceutical Product Development Bad News Trumps All Support for Banks Holds, For Now Bummer, Yields Are on the Rise Money on the Line Makes a Big Difference Structured Products: Unsafe at Any Price MORE STORIES FROM REALMONEY

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