WILLIAM E. SIMON

Chairman, William E. Simon & Sons

Banks and brokerages should be allowed to merge, says the 71-year-old former Treasury secretary, a private investor these days. But in practice, he’s not sure these combinations will work.

“We’re watching our financial markets change. Glass-Steagall will be forever forgotten, which it should have been a long time ago. I tried to get rid of it when I was in government (in the mid-1970s).

“The formation of Citigroup . . . I’m from Missouri on that one. It’s a big job putting Citicorp and Travelers together. They claim two and two will make six.

“We will have deconglomerization. We’re going to see divestitures. These giant companies will divest themselves of companies that don’t fit. They are not efficient. We have a free economy; it strives for efficiency. That’s where little companies spring up. When things get too big — The market has ways of forcing these moves.”

“I don’t think there’s an alternative to free-market economics. Like Winston Churchill said: It’s better than anything else.”