Sometimes terminology once reserved for lecture theatres and dry academic journals finds its way into the common vernacular. Take ‘regulatory capture’, a term to describe incidents where regulators are too close to the entities they regulate. Regulatory capture, rightly, gets all the attention this dangerous situation deserves. However this article also discusses the opposite end of the spectrum, which could be called ‘regulatory discord’, where the relationship is distant, confrontational or non-existent.

A regulator with little or no relationship with the other side, like the regulator that is captured, is ineffective. And the relationship between a regulator and the organisations it regulates – like any relationship – should never be taken for granted.