Taking the reins

" loosening accounting standards that would allow toxic assets to recover"

If this means as in the US to allow the toxic assets to remain on the books at the highest market value they were at the bubble's peak, then we will only have delayed the inevitable not avoided it altogether. To not mark your assets at fair market value is to distort the balance sheet and income. This is dangerous straying from " Generally Accepted Accounting Principles" and will eventually lead to "Enron Accounting" where they included "future profits" on their books. We all know where that led.