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The current crisis in financial markets has shown the importance and failings of regulation. Too much, too little, too late – opinions vary widely across financial services, but few would now claim that regulation is not required. Getting regulation right is the challenge.

Around the globe regulatory standards vary widely. It is hard to say such differences caused the current crisis since those markets with apparently the most developed regulation created the toxic credit products which have now to be dealt with.

In light of the threats and upheaval the financial services sector is currently experiencing, there are huge advantages to improving standards of compliance and regulation, and subsequently communicating the improved safety of financial products and advice. Products sold to individuals clearly benefit from this and one might wonder whether some form of regulation might not apply to complex instruments sold to professionals.

In every area of financial services, high quality advice is clearly at a premium and de facto the models developing in the US, the UK and continental Europe which seek to guarantee such advice are setting the standards for the rest of the world.

There is a clear difference in the standard of regulatory compliance between developed and developing markets.

Within developed markets such as the UK and the US, trained staff are strongly aware of the requirement to protect the end consumer and the reasons behind such requirements.

We see the USA, the UK, France, Benelux, Scandinavia, and Germany leading the way. These regions are particularly well regulated and offer the best help, advice, and protection to the consumer. They also tend to produce a higher quality product. There is a tradition of a strong commitment to, and dependency on, training.

Within the European Union there are high levels of training, but currently there is no professional accolade to recognise such training, as exists in the United States.

The US, by contrast, does not suffer from the UK's chequered history that lingers in British perceptions and financial advisers in the States enjoy a higher level of credibility. This is rooted in a greater appreciation by the US public of the value of financial advisers and their training and qualifications. Indeed, in the US, financial advisers often command a similar status to accountants and lawyers.

This is not to say that the UK is doing anything wrong. We operate in a heavily compliant arena, with high barriers to entry, and stringent training standards. More steps should be taken to improve the public's appreciation of these high standards. Similar structures exist across Western Europe, where the reputation of financial advisers has risen significantly, but there is still work to be done. Improving training and regulation is a priority.

Towards the lower end of the regulatory scale, Hong Kong operates on a similar model to the UK market 15 years ago. The distribution of products resembles the pre-regulatory days in the UK, there is no proper system of regulation. Problems are inevitable even though many consumers are financially aware.

This will, inevitably, lead to the necessary creation of a Hong Kong 'FSA' in the near future. The former crown colony lacks a framework of accredited trained personnel so the product alone is paramount. Nevertheless, Hong Kong consumers resemble those in the UK: picky, savvy and demanding of greater product choice and quality.

At the very bottom of the scale, India represents a completely unregulated market. Inevitably, we worry about this. While UK senior management talent is migrating to India and creating distribution channels for products to be sold in an unregulated way. If this situation is left unchecked there will be repercussions: customers, gradually becoming more educated and affluent, will experience disappointments and become mistrustful of financial services, demanding change and regulatory protection. In our view, India urgently needs a regulatory body to secure the future of its financial services industry to avoid the mistakes seen elsewhere, not least in the UK.

We still need to consider how to improve the environment for financial products in the UK. The mantra is we need better, not more regulation. It is true, even though everyone says it, and, of course, difficult to achieve.

The ultimate challenge is to make this happen across all markets, even those where financial scrutiny has been at its most intense. The whole financial services industry has been called into question. We watch and wait with interest for new developments and answers.

James Gregory is managing director of Darwin Rhodes