Bankers aren't always frank about bank regulation

The 'world's banker' Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, speaks his mind even if it means taking swipes at US regulators.

- GOPIKA GOPAKUMAR

QUICK READ

• RBI has tightened its regulation of banks considerably, but unlike in the US, Indian bankers rarely express resistance in public. This doesn't mean they have little to say about stiff rules.

• Today, with regulators around the world in catch-up mode as technology advances rapidly to impact banking in new ways, it would be a good idea for RBI to lend bankers a closer ear.

The world's banker, Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, speaks his mind even if it means taking swipes at US regulators. At a conference last week, Dimon had some harsh words for several major US banking regulations, which he called burdensome and inconsistent. "It's time to fight back," he said, adding that many banks are afraid to "fight with their regulators because they would just come and punish you more."

This is not the first time that Dimon has taken on regulation. In his annual letter to shareholders this year, he had called for a review of bank regulatory and supervision processes. Unlike Dimon, bankers in India seem to have much less to complain about. Or is it that they are just much less vocal?