The London-based chief executive of one of Asia's leading banks has launched a caustic attack on the direction of global regulation and warned there will be a “real cost . . . borne by the economy” if current regulatory reforms are implemented.
Peter Sands, chief executive of Standard Chartered, the emerging markets bank, said in an interview that policymakers were “kidding themselves” if they thought higher capital and liquidity requirements would be absorbed by banks and their shareholders.
“The reality is that a lot of that incremental cost will just get passed on to their customers in terms of increased pricing,” Mr Sands said. “This is not a risk-free, cost-free game here.”