2010 has carried on where 2009 left off with the spectre of regulation hanging over the financial markets. At the same time Government continues to get bigger, in education and healthcare as well as financial markets, in both the United States and Europe. President Obama is trying to go on the offensive by pushing for the banks to be broken up, separating investment banking from the consumer business. Britain’s Chancellor, Alistair Darling, is considering the same recommendation. However, as the State encroaches and the threat of regulation builds, there will be a significant creativity push to fend off the potential bottleneck of bigger government and increased regulation. This creativity will be evident on both the buy-side and the sell-side and will be driven, in particular, through technological efficiency and operational excellence. A report from Aite Group recently found that business agility was financial firms’ top objective for 2010. This was...