, Columnist
Germany’s BaFin Has Run Out of Wirecard Excuses
The launch of a parliamentary inquiry into the fintech darling’s collapse is a chance for real regulatory reform.
Hopefully hindsight will be 20/20.
Photographer: Alex Kraus/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
After every financial scandal, the natural question that gets asked is: Where were the regulators?
The answer, usually, is asleep at the wheel — or MIA altogether. When the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission opened a formal probe into Enron in 2001, the energy-trading giant had already lost 83% of its market value and was weeks from declaring bankruptcy. More recently, a string of money-laundering scandals in Europe has shown watchdogs missed warning signs for years.