a shining example of pro-active central bank policy

from the ft today:

santander in spain is the big winner of the financial crisis, now having 3 of the british commercial banks.

regulation from madrid was responsible in reining in banks when they were on an acquisition spree in mexico, and they also demanded a higher regulatory capital ratio than required by the EU. the actions seemed odd at a time, but spain has learnt the lessons of a previous financial crisis. it shows that people who have experienced shocks tend to have the most sensible attitudes towards regulation.

this is all the more remarkable, considering that there has also been a property bubble in spain