In these terms, there is no obviously “right” answer to the debate. Individual observers may have their own preferences, but at the end of the day, the answer probably depends on country-specific circumstances. For example, how independent from political and industry pressure can a separate supervisor be? How scarce are the relevant skills?
And how blurred have the distinctions between 1 different types of financial intermediary become? Some, such as Charles Goodhart, have argued that these considerations lead to the conclusion that the case for combining supervisory and monetary policy responsibilities in the central bank will generally be stronger in emerging markets.