The BOE's Andrew Haldane is shocked SHOCKED, that over the past 30 years banks have done nothing but baffle with bullshit; and he has something to say about it. Quite a bit to say about it in fact, in his latest missive [2] entitled "The Dog and The Frisbee" which was presented at J-Hole today, as he looks at 'why less is more - except in finance where 'more is more'', 'ignorance is bliss', and most importantly, 'the costs of cognition'. His conclusion is the following very sensible statement...
Modern finance is complex, perhaps too complex. Regulation of modern finance is complex, almost certainly too complex. That configuration spells trouble. As you do not fight fire with fire, you do not fight complexity with complexity. Because complexity generates uncertainty, not risk, it requires a regulatory response grounded in simplicity, not complexity.
...and yet, coming from a central bank, we feel this statement may be a little disingenuous; because while fire and complexity apparently comply with logic and common sense (as far as not being able to fight it with itself), debt is in a category of its own.
BofE_Haldane [3]