Alistair Darling calls for multilateral reform of the financial sector

Alistair Darling has been speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos today during which he urged countries around the world to pull together and reduce the influence of the financial sector as a whole. However, unlike some government around the world he has reiterated the UK stance which is against the breaking up of banks into separate entities such as investment banking and traditional banking, and more in tackling the relationship between various financial institutions.

It is a well-known fact that the financial world is a very close-knit community and simply breaking banks into separate entities will not stop the flood of potential high-risk trades we have seen in the past. Whether governments around the world have gone too far with regards to ongoing regulatory reforms remains to be seen but one thing is for sure, the financial sector is the engine room of the worldwide economy and if this is starved of fuel then the worldwide economy as a whole will suffer.

Yesterday saw the US government backtrack slightly on its hardline approach regarding the banking levy amid signs that maybe concerns portrayed by the banking community are finally hitting home.