And after six years of crisis, more and more people are, understandably, looking for a Gordian solution. To some, the solution would be to break up the banks – with one bold stroke of the sword, as it were. Broadly speaking, the dividing line would run between those parts of a bank engaged in commercial banking and those parts engaged in investment banking.
In my speech today, I will address the question of whether this is a sensible approach. As I speak first at this conference, my objective is to give an overview of the issue, discuss the pros and cons of the proposal and try to draw a tentative conclusion.