But more than that, it would put the House in greater position to address growing unfairnesses caused by government's slow response to change. At the same time, traditional regulated financial institutions have experienced a regulatory environment evermore complex and costly. The result has been a competitive mismatch in the marketplace - not because of the innovativeness of the legitimate new enterprises, but because governmental regulation has created unfair and artificial barriers for responsible business practice. As I said during my interview, the government should not determine winners and losers in the marketplace. Only competition should make that judgment.
Market discipline responds much more quickly and much more harshly than any government regulator.
But more than that, or I should say because of that, it always responds much more fairly. There is considerable market support for this approach. I have no doubt this modification would be widely viewed as responsible governance of the modern marketplace. This approach will resonate on traditional-conservative Main Street as well, demonstrating our commitment to market fairness for small banks, small brokers, and independent insurers. In my own home state of Louisiana, Hibernia National Bank has recently begun selling mutual funds and is in the process of establishing its own independent insurance agencies.