Perry: Big banks that make mistakes ‘need to pay a price’

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) in an interview that aired Sunday said he would hold big banks accountable if he’s elected president.

At the same time, Perry told CNN’s “State of the Union” that he would eliminate Wall Street and banking regulations.

“If a bank makes bad decisions, they’ll fail. Nobody ought to be too big to fail, and all these regulations did was codify in the law, and I’d certainly get rid of those,” he said.

{mosads}“You make a mistake, and you make bad choices, you need to pay a price in this country. I don’t care who you are, or whether you’re a big Wall Street firm, or you’re a big bank. You know? That’s what our bankruptcy laws are for.”

Perry, who announced a second run for the presidency last week, bashed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street financial reform law that Republicans have tried to roll back in Congress.

“Dodd-Frank’s a great example it right here in Iowa. These bankers — these small community banks are being strangled by regulations, and they can’t loan money to their farmers or small businesses. That’s just not right,” he said.