UK banks hope self-discipline will ease regulatory onslaught

Industry looks to medicine and law for self-regulation models

For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. That is a fundamental law of physics. It is also a law UK banks seem to follow in their dealings with regulators: the heavier supervisory pressure has become, the harder they have pushed back with proposals for self-regulation.

Enforceable codes of ethics, mandatory professional qualifications and enhanced whistleblowing procedures are all part of a solution that banks hope will reduce the need for frequent interference, frenzied rule