Europe welcomes Obama bank plan, won't imitate it

[FarCenter]

LONDON/PARIS (Reuters) - Major European economies offered support on Friday for U.S. President Barack Obama's plan to limit banks' size and trading activities but indicated they had no plans to follow suit.

Obama's dramatic proposals could rewrite the world financial order but experts said they were light on detail and could cloud the global approach fostered by the Group of 20 nations.

The European Union will not imitate Obama's plan, because it aims to reduce risk in the sector through other means, an EU source said on Friday.

"Look, we understand the U.S. position and we understand his reasons. But I can't see the EU going down this route," the source, who is close to EU financial policymaking, told Reuters.

"The U.S. finds itself a little behind us on this. The Obama plan is not fit for the purpose in the EU."

<SNIP>http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE60K0RW20100122

[TxRider]

1. Tories back Obama banking crackdown

"Responding to the plans - which sent shockwaves through world stock markets - shadow chancellor George Osborne said: "This is a welcome move by President Obama that accords very much with our thinking." "


http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/tories-back-obama-banking-crackdown-1875767.html

[FarCenter]

2. Oddly enough, the political heirs of Maggie Thatcher seem to like Obama's proposal

It makes me a little nervous.

[TxRider]

3. It tells me this wasn't a kneejerk reaction from Obama after Brown won

That it is instead something he and Volker have been working on for some time.

That they knew it had to happen in London as well.

London was the driving force behind deregulation here years ago.

[FarCenter]

4. This is consistent with the Thatcher - Reagan deregulation agenda

Wall Street and the City of London basically have the same view with respect to keeping the casino open and not undergoing regulation and reform. The Obama/Volcker proposal attempt to continue the status quo by fencing off commercial banking so that the game can continue unabated outside the narrow scope of commercial bank deposits and lending.

This leaves the greater part of the financial system unregulated and subject only to is own internal rules of competition.

It preserves the world's greatest multiplayer networked video game for the hedge funds and speculators. But it also leaves a lot of the real economy linked to the game through non-bank lending, and therefore is likely to be ineffective in preventing systemic crises. They are betting New York and London will be able to beat Frankfurt, Paris, Zurich, Abu Dhabi, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Tokyo at the game.

[TxRider]

5. Well we will see, I'm not into the details of his reform plan yet.