It is now generally accepted that reckless lending has helped cause the greatest collapse in the global economy since the Depression years of the 1930’s. Yet many bankers still maintain it is vital they continue to pursue “innovation” of the type that has brought about this collapse.
Martin Wolf, a former EPCA speaker, makes a good riposte to this argument in today’s Financial Times. He notes that “maximising innovation is a crazy objective. As in pharmaceuticals, a trade-off exists between innovation and safety”.