John Tiner did something last week that regulators do not usually do. The chief executive of the Financial Services Authority told an audience of insurance executives in London he had decided not to subject them to further rules.

If Mr Tiner has his way, he will make many similar speeches in the future. Two-and-a-half years after taking charge of the FSA, the 49-year-old former accountant is keen for the watchdog to spend less time drawing up and enforcing rules, and more time making sure the companies and individuals it oversees understand and follow a broad set of principles of good behaviour.