Global regulators are putting the banks through a boot camp to knock them into shape. Banks probably feel they have been on a crash diet and a strict fitness regime since the crisis. But few outsiders would have much sympathy. The global crisis left the public feeling that the banking sector was bloated, overpaid and in poor shape to perform its key function of supplying credit to the real economy. This week, the Archbishop of Canterbury has thrown his moral authority behind the calls for tougher regulation, in particular a financial transaction tax.
全球各國的監管機構正將銀行送入一個“新兵訓練營”，希望對它們進行一番整頓。銀行也許感覺它們從危機開始以來就在進行“地獄式節食”，同時還在執行一項嚴格的“健身”計劃。不過外界很少有人對它們抱有惻隱之心。這場全球性危機讓公眾感覺到，銀行業不僅出現了膨脹，薪酬過高，而且體制不健全，不能很好地發揮向實體經濟提供貸款的作用。前段時間，坎特伯雷大主教對加強監管尤其是開征金融交易稅的呼吁予以了支持，為其賦予了道德上的權威。