Banking bluster

BARACK Obama's so-called "war on Wall Street" contains much tough-talking and populist soundbites.

On the path to his historic election victory last year, reforms of both the banking system and the nation's health care were central to his repeated promise of "change".

With his administration now bereft of its Senate majority, the White House is under pressure to act on outstanding banking matters.

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It is, of course, right that those governments, which bailed out the banks, should seek to address the culture of reckless risk taking that has underpinned the global recession.

However, world leaders must also understand that the banking sector

needs stability and space to grow again to fuel economic growth.

Nobody will be thanking President Obama if his structural changes

destabilise international markets and, potentially, hinder the world's prospects for recovery.