The Future of Financial Reform: Conceiving the Financial System of the 21st Century

by Jay Pocklington on December 22, 2014

Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England (BoE) and Chairman of the Financial Stability Board (FSB), may well be the man of the hour. When he gives a speech entitled “The Future of Financial Reform” as he recently did at the Monetary Authority in Singapore, people listen.

In his remarks, Carney emphasized curbing bankers’ compensation. It is little surprise that these particular remarks made all the headlines – this is kind of news the public has been waiting for. The fact that bankers received a record $140 billion in 2009 after banks received bailouts should enrage anyone. However, Carney offers a more subtle and nuanced understanding of the modern financial system and does not simply repeat populist anti-banker sentiments. As the head of the Bank of England he is at the forefront in conceiving a financial system for the 21st century – how to regulate it to make it safe and fair, and make it serve the needs of the real economy.