Be Afraid!

I see that Hector Sants, the head of the Financial Services Authority (FSA), is telling the City that people should be "very frightened of the FSA".

That will most certainly be a first!

He has warned that there will be a new, more proactive approach, to regulatory enforcement, which would be far more direct and intrusive. All very well, but this is shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted.

Whether or not the FSA finally develops some cojones is not the issue. The fundamental reason for the failure of financial regulation is the tripartite system created by Brown. As long as that is in place, the regulatory failings of the past will be destined to be repeated in the future.