The Obama administration argues that getting the financial rules right and enforcing them well matter more than dismantling and rebuilding the regulatory structure. The financial crisis, it says, has shown that no one architectural scheme is superior.

The administration’s proposals will disappoint those hoping for a tidier US regulatory system. The structure envisaged by Mr Obama’s team is more complicated. Their plan has many good points – notably an expanded role for the Federal Reserve, and an oversight council of regulators to co-ordinate the efforts of new and existing bodies. Their careful approach would fill many gaps in regulatory coverage. Still, no one would call the design elegant.