The Financial Stability Oversight Council, the newest, largest, and surely the most unusual multi-member agency ever to be created by Congress, has begun its work. Comprised of ten voting members — the secretary of the Treasury, the chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, the heads of the independent financial regulatory agencies, and a presidential appointee with insurance expertise — and five “advisory” nonvoting members, the FSOC has been given the mission, broadly stated, of protecting the financial stability of the United States.