Drastic action

Authorities at the centre of the financial crisis are prescribing more regulation and more capital as appropriate measures to prevent a similar calamity in the future. But a study released this month by Japanese think-tank, the National Institute for Research Advancement, says bolder and better action is required. Tsuyoshi Oyama reports

More than two years have passed since the problem of subprime loans – at the time confined largely to a single country – metamorphosed into a fully fledged global financial crisis within a short period of time. Massive liquidity provision and an ultra-easy monetary policy introduced by the central banks of all the major economies, alongside government bailouts for many financial institutions, has resulted in several parties believing the worst of the crisis is over.
Now that some market