How soon will the financial sector be back to business as usual? How soon thereafter will it be before another – perhaps even worse – crisis comes as a surprise to the industry, regulators and the world? The answers to these questions may be “much too soon”.

The period after a crisis when regulatory changes are feasible is always brief. Even after a crisis as big as today’s, fatigue may soon set in: the public becomes bored; the lobbying by those fearing new restrictions is tireless; and policymakers and regulators give up.