Labour sticks to plan for super-SIB

Labour's shadow economic secretary, Mike O'Brien (left), yesterday reaffirmed his party's plans for financial services regulators to be brought under the single umbrella of the Securities and Investments Board. There will be a distinction made between wholesale and retail market regulation, with the former having a "lighter touch". But he added that Labour did not want a US-style Securities and Exchange Commission, which he believes would be inappropriate to this country.

Mr O'Brien, speaking to a City audience at a lecture sponsored by Imro, the fund managers' regulator, said he also wanted to simplify many of the rules governing the industry: "We would rather have four rules that worked than 400 which tried to catch every eventuality but just succeeded in confusing everyone."