Not Learning Anything or Why i Distrust Political Liberalism

Let me highlight a recent article in the Business Times of Singapore, on Wednesday, July 8, 2009, entitled, "The Cane Whistles, But Does It Really Hurt?"

"The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has banned 10 financial institutions (FIs) from selling structured notes for periods ranging between 6 months and 2 years for mis-selling products linked to collapsed US bank Lehman Brothers...On the surface, the MAS ban, following approximately 7 months of investigations, appears to be appropriate punishment. But it really rings hollow, because it isn't going to to hurt the FIs much.The fact is that the whole structured products market has vanished-the financial crisis and the structured notes fiasco have seen to that...This will be cold-comfort to the 10000 or so investors who suffered from the mis-selling..and it isn't satisfactory, given the serious lapses at the FIs. The list of shortcomings makes for shocking reading.."

"If a ban really means nothing, the MAS should have imposed fines, big fines, that would really have hurt the FIs...it should have pushed the FIs to compensate...The nature of the lapses identified by the MAs suggests a failure in oversight and processes, which really points the finger at senior executives, and they shouldn't escape responsibility."

"And what about the MAS' own role? Dare we suggest that if the sub-prime fiasco hadn't happened and Lehman hadn't collapsed,the mis-selling would have continued merrily and no one would be the wiser? How closely did the central bank supervise the banks when it came to the sale of structured products before the crisis?"

"The industry will respond as it usually does. Indeed, the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) immediately announced that its member banks are putting in place a series of measures covering a range of governance and assurance processes, training and compensation of sales personnel, consumer education and enhancements to the sales process. Investors will take all this with a pinch of salt. Weren't there such protestations before?"

Thats the cost of liberalism and market de-regulation..after 4 years in Australia, i'm skeptical..political liberalism is a chimaera at best and a false messiah at worst, offering much but delivering little. Even now our incumbent government is unwilling to learn and listen, preferencing corporate interests over the small-time individual investor. Thats why I distrust political liberalism, period.