September 23, 2008
New Regulations Expected South of the Border
Did you know the recent financial crisis on Wall Street may carry at least one benefit, which will be some form of “re-regulation” of the U.S. financial system? Many experts say it is time to reduce the excessive risk, speculation and complexity that underlie much of the current problem. Sound regulations already exist in Canada, and our institutions have not been as exposed to the sub-prime mortgage problem or some of the trading practices, products and strategies that have undermined the U.S. financial system over the last decade. There has certainly been some impact here – but nothing to put our banking institutions in jeopardy. They are well capitalized and should be able to weather this storm. We can just hope that the impact on the overall economy will not be too severe and will not last too long. For helpful, plain language explanations of financial markets, go to the Canadian Foundation for Economic Education (CFEE), at http://www.cfee.org
