Stemming the tide of regulation is to be top of the agenda for Jonathan Taylor when he takes over as director-general of the London Investment Banking Association, the UK trade association for investment banking and wholesale securities groups, in November.

Alan Yarrow, chairman of LIBA and vice-chairman of Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, told Financial News: "The big issue is to make sure the enthusiasm to regulate by our domestic, European and international regulators is tempered by an understanding that the markets are fragile and people will run away if there's too much intervention."