Stock traders in Jordan and Government incompetence

It appears that the private sector in Jordan is way ahead of the government in terms of following global financial trends. What has happened recently to stock brokers in Jordan is a sign that the government was too slow to take the initiative and have regulations in place for whomever wants to engage in securities trading. Some entrepreneurs took advantage of the lack of such regulations and went out and "sold" their practices to the financially uneducated average citizen with promises of eminent profits.

When the government finally woke up and heard the scream of the unsuspecting victims, and issued the newly minted rules regulating the industry, it became apparent that those brokers weren't as honest as they should have. The result: brokers fleeing the countries, many brokerage firms filing for bankruptcy, and numerous "investors" losing their life savings.

This only tells of one thing: the private sector in Jordan has beaten the government this round, which is not the first time. We all still remember Petra Bank. What is crucially needed in the market these days is an overhaul of policies and regulations to preempt such an issue from happening again. People will always be in search of making profits, especially in the current economic conditions, which makes them an easy prey to more affluent entrepreneurs.