European regulator engaged in a “failure of common sense”: Lloyd’s chairman

European regulators are engaged in a “failure of common sense,” by crafting regulations to prevent a re-run of the financial crisis instead of focusing on strategies to promote the economic growth of the financial sector, Lloyd’s of London chairman Lord Peter Levine said in a Sept. 29 speech at the Lloyd’s City Dinner.
“It is absolutely crucial that we support private enterprise, particularly because many public sector workers will need to find employment in the private sector in the very near future,” he said. “Would much of the time that we are spending on crafting regulation and building structures to prevent a re-run of the financial crisis be better spent on strategies for growth?”
Levine said the European insurance industry has been unfairly “vilified” as a result of the financial crisis, pointing out “insurance is not banking.”
He noted Lloyd’s, Generali, Allianz, Swiss Re and Munich Re all weathered the financial crisis without recourse to public funds and have at the same time paid out billions in claims.
“Yet we find ourselves, two years from the collapse of Lehmans, still fighting a rearguard action, trying to convince regulators not to impose too harsh conditions on us,” he said. “This is not simply denial of justice, it is a failure of common sense.”