Keeping the consumer in mind on regulation

There has been a lot of talk, including here, about who should control the new single financial regulatory authority. This week, the president of the Irish Insurance Federation Mr Vincent Sheridan injected a breath of fresh air into the argument when he reminded people how any regulator doing its job would ultimately prove far more important than who that regulator is.

He also correctly pointed out that while there was a need for emphasis on consumer protection, the solvency of financial institutions might well be the single most important element of such protection.

But his most telling comment as he sought to add a dose of reality to the ongoing turf wars between those ranged on either side of the McDowell report recommendations was that the cost of any regulation would be borne by the consumer in the final instance.

As such, it is incumbent that the cost of protection does not exceed the benefits of that protection to the consumer at large. It is a point the authorities would do well to bear in mind when they do determine how best to proceed.