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Regulators are going after the wrong target by trying to impose stricter rules on hedge funds, according to Nassim Nicholas Taleb, high-profile author of credit crisis hit The Black Swan.

Taking a decidedly negative view of banks, Taleb told the Hedge 2009 conference in London today that a bank is essentially “a utility with a compensation scheme”, which the public has to bail out if it fails.

In contrast, “hedge funds are a good thing” (not a phrase that is heard very often).

With the possible exception of LTCM, taxpayers haven’t had to bail out hedge funds which,