Simon Johnson (MIT professor; former chief economist at the IMF) talked about the power of Wall Street banks since the 2008 financial collapse. In March 2009, the heads of the 13 largest banks in the U.S. visited President Obama in the White House to ask for help. That help, which came in the form of bailouts, loans, and credits from the federal government, resulted in a further concentration of power within the banking sector, leading to what we have today - six megabanks that control a vast portion of our economy. Mr. Johnson argued that these banks, which are still too big to fail, continue to take excessive risks and could lead us to another collapse. World Affairs Council event held at CSIS.