Recent exchanges between bankers and lawmakers in Britain and the United States show that the bankers are still riding high and resisting any attempts to cut them down to size. It is a far cry from what happened centuries ago, when bankers routinely lost their fortunes when they dared to tangle or even to tango with the state.
British members of parliament did at least try to get some information from Bob Diamond, freshly resigned chief executive of Barclays, about a bid-rigging for which the big British bank paid a record GBP290 million (HK$3.48 billion) fine to British and US authorities. But Diamond played the MPs: he called each member on the committee by their personal names, Jesse and John and Andrea, like old family retainers, and spoke patronisingly as if they were.
Diamond conceded that banking behaviour was 'reprehensible' but wriggled away from personal responsibility, claiming the bid-rigging was done by 14 traders and their 'immediate supervisor' and that he knew about 'the full extent' of the rigging only a month ago and had spent GBP100 million immediately to investigate it.
He rebuffed the idea of handing over his golden farewell, estimated at up to GBP22 million. But he has since done a deal with Barclays on a roughly GBP2 million pay-off - equivalent to about a year's salary - forgoing the bonuses that would have taken his farewell package to about GBP20 million. Public opinion evidently counts.
The British MPs, however, looked like lions with their claws sharpened and ready for a tasty meal when compared to their US Senate counterparts who questioned Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase.
One of the senators cooed to him: 'Mr Dimon, it occurs to me that an enterprise as big and powerful as yours, you've got a lot of firepower and you're - you're just huge.'
Another joined the love-in: 'You're obviously renowned, rightfully so, I think, as being one of the best CEOs in the country.' A third gushingly told Dimon: 'You guys know the industry better than anybody sitting up here.'