> It is strange and horrible that it is become like that, but that's where we are.
Given that in very recent times we got to experience what happens when people handling money completely ignore regulations, I'm quite happy banks are "compliance businesses".
Banks should be boring businesses focused on taking deposits, making loans and other variations of that sort of capital allocation. Whenever a bank talks about "new financial innovations!", run for the hills because it's invariably a way to separate customers from more of their money.
When bank is about to go under due to some new esoteric product which _should_ work (like packaging risky debt into magically risk-free securities) but eventually doesn't, it is MY money that's going to be used to pay for the losses. Because the bankruptcy would be a "systemic risk to the economy". So you bet I want banks to be constantly audited to make sure they don't make any dumb bets which I will have to cover for.
Given that in very recent times we got to experience what happens when people handling money completely ignore regulations, I'm quite happy banks are "compliance businesses".
Banks should be boring businesses focused on taking deposits, making loans and other variations of that sort of capital allocation. Whenever a bank talks about "new financial innovations!", run for the hills because it's invariably a way to separate customers from more of their money.