Ed Balls on banks:

· ‘Nothing should be done to put at risk a light-touch, risk-based regulatory regime’ (Bloomberg Speech, 14 June 2006).

· ‘I believe we are right to avoid prescriptive, heavy-handed regulation in Britain’ (Balls, ibid.).
· ‘In my first speech as City Minister at Bloomberg in London, I argued that London’s success has been based on… light-touch principle-based regulation’ (Speech to The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce and The British Chamber of Commerce, 13 September 2006).

· ‘It is important that the FSA continues to deliver a light-touch and risk-based regulatory approach’ (14 June 2006).

· [The Labour government] will outlaw the imposition of any rules that might endanger the light-touch, risk-based regulatory regime that underpins London’s success.’ (13 September 2006).

But now:
We should have ignored Tory and City claims that we were being too tough on financial regulation and been much tougher still. (Independent, 24 January 2011)