Banks see too much regulation as big risk: survey

Regulatory overkill is the greatest risk facing the world's banks and financial services companies for the second year in a row, along with government meddling in free markets, according to a survey published on June 28.
New accounting standards, new capital requirements under the Basel II accord and a raft of new European Union financial rules have prompted complaints from the financial sector that regulation is out of control.
"The financial sector is again throwing down a challenge to the regulators as to whether they have the right balance of cost and benefit," said John Hitchins, UK banking leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers, which with the Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation surveyed bankers from 60 countries.
The survey also picked up on worries about growing political interference by governments seeking to influence bank behaviour and obstruct free markets.
The survey - called Banking Banana Skins - also showed a big increase in worries about risks from commodity markets, which jumped to fourth place from 14th in last year's survey.
Interest rates shot up into fifth place from 12th, and emerging markets ranked ninth, up from 15th.
As in previous years, concerns about credit risk, derivatives and hedge funds also featured high in the rankings.
"The feeling is widespread that financial markets have had it too good for too long and are ceasing to apply the same rigorous standards as before," the survey said.
Huge amounts of liquidity in the financial system are driving down margins and forcing banks to take ever greater risks to protect their revenues.
This year's Banana Skins index, which measures market anxiety based on the survey's results, showed a sharp uptick, bringing it close to its record high in the wake of the dot-com market crash in 2000-2002.
But some concerns that previously ranked high have eased, according to the survey.
"In the area of financial crime, both fraud and money laundering fell several places, mainly because of the number of initiatives in place to deal with those issues." Banks are also seen better placed to deal with shocks in the system. This year, 64 percent of respondents saw institutions as better able to handle the risks, up from 57 percent last year.
David Lascelles, the CSFI's co-director, said: "This year's results tell us that people are becoming more anxious about the financial outlook and the damage that this could do to banks. But we are not yet at the point where risks are becoming life-threatening."