But broader dissemination of detailed disclosures by governments, financial institutions, and firms is required if the greater risks inherent in our vastly expanded global financial structure are to be contained. A market system can approach an appropriate equilibrium only if the signals to which individual market participants respond are accurate and adequate to the needs of the adjustment process.
Or, as Walther Eucken put it, “He who profits must also bear the losses.” When it comes to two of the biggest economic actors in the monetary union, this principle applies only to a limited extent.