Are we missing a lesson that has been applied for years?
I have resisted any temptation to comment on the economic situation on Learning from Dogs. The contributions from others are based on far more knowledge and understanding of the subject then I will ever have.
However, I feel obliged to ask humbly for some clarification about something that bothers me. Are we putting the cart before the horse? Are we ignoring the relationship between provider and consumer in finance?
The regulatory regime applied to the vast majority of products which are allowed to be sold to the public is such that 
there are probably more stringent safety standards for an electric toaster than for most, if not all, financial products!
Much of the talk of regulation and restraint, in the current climate, seems to relate to remuneration of people working for financial organisations. But, why does it matter what they receive? In other fields, success is rewarded and the shareholders, admittedly fairly indirectly, have some say on the policy in that area. Why should they not pay what they wish?
On the other hand (to coin an economic phrase!), the minimum standards of the products are set by regulators.
In other fields, if a supplier cannot demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the regulators, that its product meets specified safety standards, then that product is not allowed to be offered.
It is very simple! I am not referring to contracts, customer service, compensation and so on; I am referring to a threshold level of safety below which the product is not allowed to be sold or operated. Think: “cars”, “aeroplanes”, “electrical appliances”, “children’s toys”, and … well anything else!
To be even clearer, this is not about “perfect safety” which is, of course, not available at any price. This is not about blame. This is not about guarantees. It IS about inspection, testing, certification, regulation … oh and policing!
Can anyone explain why this approach cannot be applied to financial products? (Sherry attempts to here.)
By John Lewis
p.s. as chance would have it the image of the toaster at the head of this Post was taken from an article talking about a recall of the Viking Toaster – point made rather well, don’t you think?
Learning from Dogs 
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