German banking association chief warns against over-regulation

Association of German Banks’ head Manfred Weber stresses the need for the right blend of market and regulation

FRANKFURT – Manfred Weber, chief executive of the Association of German Banks, presenting the Banking Survey 2008 – facts|opinions|outlook, warned about the dangers of over-regulation.

“We can only ensure financial market growth and stability with the right blend of market and regulation,” said Weber. “Yet the experience of the past few months shows that it is first up to the financial market participants themselves to get to grips with dislocation and turmoil. But rules for globally networked financial markets have to be agreed internationally and should always be checked for their practicability.” Otherwise flexibility and innovativeness would be killed, although both were urgently needed in the financial markets in the future as well to ensure growth and prosperity. Banking would always remain a risk-taking business. “Over-regulation, on the other hand, merely creates a false sense of security and quashes opportunities for growth in particular”, he said.

Click here for the Banking Survey.