Peak Earnings

One of the implications of becoming a bank or a bank holding company is is that it puts the entity under Fed regulation. That means that Goldman, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch (via merger with Bank of America) and any other nonbank becoming a bank holding company is going to have to reduce leverage. Kiss those 30-1 and 40-1 leverage ratios goodbye.

... reduced risk means reduced profit potential. When the economy does pick back up, don't expect profits at banks and bank holding companies to come remotely close to the earnings during the last cycle.