Departing WEF delegates face the challenge of breathing new life into the economy after discussing many options and potential pitfalls in Davos. But the overriding impression of the week was of a growing conflict between bankers, regulators and politicians

that represents a significant first hurdle against a sustainable recovery.
Gone was the pessimism and defensive tenor of last year’s forum, but it was replaced with a thirst for a fight as each side drew up battle lines.
Swiss Economics Minister Doris Leuthard and French President Nicolas Sarkozy fired the opening salvoes to get the 40th edition of WEF’s flagship programme underway.
Leuthard chided the assembled business leaders and politicians for indulging in more talk than action. Bankers were accused of trying to “wriggle out of their responsibilities” while regulatory reform was “hurtling toward the abyss”.
Sarkozy warned that the reckless, bonus-fuelled “indecent behavior” of bankers would “no longer be tolerated”.

“We can only save capitalism by rebuilding it, by restoring its moral dimension,”

he warned.
Bumpy road ahead
Bankers hit back by dismissing a raft of recent regulatory proposals to tax bonuses and break up big banks as politicians playing up to popular sentiment in order to win votes.
Swiss Bankers Association chairman Patrick Odier told swissinfo.ch that draconian rules could drive some of the riskier activities underground, below the radar of regulators.

“If regulation focuses too far on specific areas you run the risk of pushing people outside of the regulated area into under-regulated new industries,”

he said.
Despite signs that a global economic recovery was starting to peek through the gloom, especially in emerging economies, the Forum rang plenty of alarm bells that the road ahead might prove to be rocky.
Rising unemployment, snowballing national debt and growing signs of national protectionism could derail efforts to get the economy moving again, delegates were told.
Haiti disaster hits home
But overshadowing the banking regulation argument was the tragedy of Haiti where hundreds of thousands of people were killed or injured in a series of earthquakes earlier this month.
Former United States President Bill Clinton launched a joint appeal with WEF organisers to encourage companies to restore Haiti’s economy with a long-term commitment to doing business in the devastated country.
Several non-governmental organisations were also present to share their experiences of the disaster and to outline how past experiences had helped shape their response to the current situation.
Humanitarian aid featured heavily in Davos with Microsoft founder Bill Gates announcing a 10-year, $10 billion (SFr 10.61 billion) funding plan to help vaccinate the world’s poorest people through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
The five-day event also found time to discuss a wide variety of subjects, from health issues to water supply, political hotspots, the latest technological trends, the 2010 football World Cup, ageing populations, the environment, piracy and the influence of religion.
Some of the more offbeat sessions included: “The Art and Science of Imagination”, “The Bard and the Buck”, “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Lessons on Reconnecting with Children” and “Does an Algorithm Run Your Life?”.
However, as delegates packed their bags with the admonishments of President Sarkozy still ringing in their ears, the biggest question left remaining was how much the various actors would act in concert in following the Forum’s motto to “redesign and rebuild the world”. (с) swissinfo
Useful link: Swiss Bankers Association (SBA)
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