Letter: Effluent society

Bruce Crichton's implication that over-regulation of the banking industry caused the crash (Letters, 8 June) is ludicrous. Lack of regulation and loose adherence to the Basel agreement are among the causes of the banking failures.

One of the first things Gordon Brown did as chancellor was to make the Bank of England independent of direct government control. If you want to see what happens when effective banking controls are applied have a look at how the Commonwealth Bank of Australia has performed over the past four years.

Not every bank lost money - only the gullible and unregulated ones. Lack of due diligence in not recognising "toxic assets" has turned us from the "affluent society" to the "effluent society". The banks lost the money, not the government.

R Goodall

Stanley Avenue

Edinburgh