In many instances, companies began operating “in silos” and even senior staff often lacked sufficient knowledge of the different businesses  1  2  See Report of the US Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, January 2011. BIS central bankers’ speeches  in which they were involved.
Finally, one cannot ignore the issue of incentives in the financial industry, especially the system of employee compensation, which at some stage heavily rewarded sales volume and short-term profits at the expense of risk awareness and longerterm prudential analysis. There is no doubt that regulatory authorities and financial institutions alike have become more aware of the need for correcting the excesses of the past.