Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Eh Tu Europe?

As European stock markets tank, the Irish government guarantees bank deposits, the Benelux countries nationalize Fortis bank, Germany bails out Hypo Real Estate Holdings, and Denmark also guarantees bank deposits and dismally so forth, the question arises: Who knew that Europe, of all places, was so under-regulated? Or maybe de-regulation is not the chief cause for the outbreak of financial chaos? Just wondering.


When the answer to "what to do?" is always "regulate more," the answer to "what went wrong?" must always be "not enough regulation."

Megan McArdle has related thoughts: "Europe's ongoing disaster is starting to match ours. This not only seriously challenges the idea that the main problem is American bank regulation--everyone is having the same problem, despite different regulatory regimes--but also puts us in much deeper jeopardy." Yes, just over a week ago, Europeans were gloating at American problems.