Goldman's front man Lloyd Blankfein went public with discussion of the need for restructuring Wall Street's compensation practices, as well as the need to bring investment scrutiny back in-house from a long-held practice of outsourcing to ratings agencies.

Joining Bank of America's Ken Lewis - who has admitted to flawed compensation practices - this growing chorus is not only crafting their message to a political audience, but to fellow institutions as they move for reform that will keep the industry in the business of providing the global economy access to capital.

In what many prominent voices suggest are healthy and effective measures for Wall Street, Blankfein joins sides with Washington over the prospect of an overarching systemic risk regulator as well as those critical of FASB's changes (against-the-grain for the ceo of a bank). This is both a message of confidence to shareholders and a signal for rational interaction with the powers in Washington.