Report from Planet Zog

I arranged a couple of meetings in London for yesterday and realising I had the morning free, I volunteered to attend an event being organised by an outfit called PanaceaIFA.  The topic being the RDR (which you probably will not have heard of).  The RDR is the next Big Idea from the Failed FSA as to how retail financial service will be delivered and paid for.

There was a panel of five 'industry experts':

Karen Barrett.  Chief Exec of Unbiased.co.uk
Richard Hobbs.  Head of Lansons Regulatory Consulting
Nick Cann.  Chief Executive of the Institute of Financial Planning
Gill Cardy.  MD of IFA Centre
Garry Heath.  Noted 'character'. And a 'Good Bloke' whom I have known for some time.

They all gave a five minute chat of what they thought of the RDR and how it would affect us and what we could do.

Then they asked for questions.

I put my hand up.  "Would the members of the panel, who think that the State should regulate financial services please raise their hands?"

Nick and Karen sort of half put up their hands then quickly brought them down again.  Gill asked me 'Can you explain what you mean by that question"? (!).

"It's very simple, do you think that the State should regulate financial services?"

She replied by going off on a long statement about 'capitalism' and how it doesn't work [some/most] of the time.

Then Richard pops up.

"Well, if you mean that we should have self-regulation that has clearly failed.  And when you get 'market failure'....look, supposing you turned off all the traffic lights there'd be chaos right?

Me. "Er no. Since my previous career was  a highway engineer I can categorically state that turning off traffic lights is excellent for traffic flow and safety. So, I'll ask again.  Do you think that the state should regulate financial services?"

More pointless dissembling and rambling but no justifications and no real answers.  The Lansons' blokey -Richard Hobbs - (read his CV here under our people - you'll get the picture) got off on 'market failure'; 'consumer detriment' and all the other weasel words loved by the bureaucrats.

More general dissembling and the Chairmen quickly selected another question.

I mean.  Tell me.  We are doomed aren't we?  I don't mean just FS, but all of us?  When 'industry figures' cannot feel confident in regulating themselves what the Hell hope is there?

(N.B.  Garry likened Hector Sants to a Rumanian Dictator as he has taken to announcing FSA policy by way of 'speeches' made at whatever do he has wangled an invite to.  Garry and I lunched together after this farrago and cried in our beer).