Until now any excesses in the use of power by President Trump would pale when compared to those of bank regulators

Sir, Gillian Tett writes: “Trump has managed to make the US constitution a live topic of debate…. the White House’s immigration clampdown… has created a real-time lesson on the limits of presidential power… The concept of “checks and balances” is no longer something written about in a school exam but instead is being breathlessly discussed on breakfast television… It is one thing to squeal with fury about the actions of the White House but what is badly needed is for voters (and journalists) to exercise a similar scrutiny over the operations of Congress and the judiciary, not to mention the lobbyists. “Our teenagers stand to profit from their awakening” February 18.

Sir, someday perhaps some grown-up grandchildren will awake and say: “During decades the risk weighted capital requirements gave banks incentives to refinance the “safer” past and present, and not to finance the riskier future we sorely needed to be financed. As a consequence many millions of SMEs and entrepreneurs around the world were denied that bank credit that could have created a new generation of jobs for us. Granma, please tell us you did not know anything about this, and yet said nothing”

@PerKurowski