Little and Large show
ANDREW Large endeared himself to me by putting John Thorn, who taught me his- tory, on the board of the Securities Associ- ation. That regulatory body had quite enough people who knew about securities, but too few who knew about anything else. Now Mr Large is clearing up a mess on the commodity exchange, and in May he goes to the Securities and Investments Board to succeed Sir David Walker as regulator in chief. This must be a pre-emptive appoint- ment before the election, reducing the scope for a different government to appoint (for example) Lord Williams of Elvel. It may also be an example of the Thorn prin- ciple, for Mr Large made his name and career in the international capital markets, which are well down the SIB's list of wor- ries — rather than the rough, tough world of insurance and investment salesmen, which is at the top. Sir David means to establish new rules for that world before he goes. Mr Large will then have to look at the three different sets of regulators who must make the new rules tick. The three are under review, by the old Board of Trade hand Sir Kenneth Clucas, and the betting is that he will recommend rolling them into one. If he could roll them into one compe- tent policeman to stand behind the sales- men on the nation's doorsteps, that would leave the SIB as the policy-making body, but with rather less than it now has to do and say. Ministers, who are showing signs of regulatory fatigue, might welcome a little and Large show.
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