Be warned: The next crisis is imminent

According to a survey by Complinet, a provider of compliance solutions, 77 per cent of financial gatekeepers warn that the next global crisis is “imminent”. The survey, called The Forgotten Crisis: As Markets Start to Recover Has Anything Really Changed?, found that the majority of regulators predicted a significant economic downturn within the next five years.

“The continuing lack of company transparency and accountability to the markets and the public makes the possibility of another crisis almost assured,” warned one anonymous respondent.

The survey revealed that only 40 per cent thought their firm had changed its habit of rewarding based on a better understanding of risks associated with the business. In other words, risk takers are still being rewarded, although at least they acknowledged that those outside the financial world resent the bonus culture. When asked, do you believe the current bonus culture encourages uncontrollable risk-taking, questionable valuation practice or short-term attitudes to performance and product life-cycles? 72 per cent answered “yes”.