Well, all I can say about the US Fed as a model for prudential regulation is that it has been pathetic and I see no prospect for that to change. By law it has the power to pull the banking license of any bank in the Federal Reserve System, but it would be a financial earthquake if they ever did so. Without a major change in Fed leadership I don't see this even on the horizon. I wish I could take comfort from Lenin's old dictum: "The worse the better."

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."