Going back to the future is best for finance sector

Former US Federal Reserve Board Chairman Paul Volcker provided the central inspiration for President Barack Obama's proposal for overhauling banking.

Without question the most successful central banker of the twentieth century, Volcker was an early and persistent voice warning of the problems of what he called "the bright new financial system".

But Volcker has also been a prominent critic of the dangers of currency volatility. What is the link between nostalgia for a simplified and less risky banking sector and the wish to reintroduce a currency system that also seems a relic of the past?