A meeting of minds

Over the last few years the international financial press has regularly featured articles from supervisors concerning the regulatory system in place in their jurisdiction. Such articles often talk about matching international standards, about the positive feedback from independent reviews. They sometimes include the standard but somewhat trite phrase loved by some regulators, along the line of 'well regulated business is good business'. Such articles are worthy and have their place. They also miss a fundamental point. Regulation is not a normal state. There is no physical law that states...