Sartorial fashion is cyclical. Every few years, certain trends that had dropped out of style become hot on the catwalk again – meaning that ideas are constantly recycled.
Something similar may be under way in central banking too. Five decades ago, central bankers assumed that it was sometimes sensible to use targeted regulatory controls to create a healthy economy and financial system.
But then, from the 1980s, it became fashionable to presume that macroeconomic management sat in a different silo from financial regulation: the former was dominated by debates about inflation targets and interest rates; the latter focused on bank supervision.