Entry in progress—B.P.
 
Wikipedia: Systemically important financial institution
Systemically important financial institutions (SIFI) are financial institutions that are deemed systemically important to the global economy in the sense that the failure of one of them could trigger a global financial crisis. The prevention of their collapse and the limitation of the consequences of a collapse are important as a means of protecting the financial system.
 
New regulations were finalised in 2010-11 by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision that specifically targets these global systemically important banks. The regulation involves large banks being required to hold more capital on hand as a percentage of their total capital loaned out to borrowers.
 
New York (NY) Times—Economix blog
August 20, 2009, 5:08 pm
Defining ‘Too Big to Fail’
By CATHERINE RAMPELL
(...)
So are there some objective, lobby-proof criteria for this designation?

James B. Thomson at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland says yes. In a new report, he takes a stab at outlining the definition of a “systemically important” financial institution (SIFI, for short), and how it might be contained and monitored.