The ongoing debate between banks and international regulators over what constitutes the right amount of capital must become more realistic, with both sides acknowledging there is no ideal outcome, said Peter Fisher, an executive at the global asset management firm BlackRock, and former U.S. official. Speaking at a luncheon sponsored by the Institute of International Bankers on Tuesday, Fisher said: “If we don’t find a way to have an honest dialogue you are doomed to haggling and it won’t turn out well” for banks, adding that regulators would win under such a scenario. Fisher, speaking for himself, said there was no magic formula for arriving at an “equilibrium” amount of capital that a bank should hold, but that the figure was probably higher than most institutions would like, but not as high as most regulators would want. Describing the current environment as one where regulators were “nibbling us to death” with regulation after regulation, Fisher said both sides had to become
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