Bathed in purple light at the official launch of the Financial Services Authority, Britain's new super-watchdog, its chairman, Howard Davies, proved to be a master of bureaucratic levity.
The fsa's new offices near the City Airport in Docklands would be "conveniently situated for that major financial centre, Frankfurt", he quipped.
Its logo, a set of squiggles, had been borrowed from the Bank of England's designs for euro banknotes, said Davies: "They assure me they won't be needing them for some time."
Among his triumvirate of managing directors would be Michael Foot, who currently works "at a small, unlicensed institution in the City" - he's head of supervision at the Bank of England.
Cooperation with the Bank's chief Eddie George would be no problem, Davies said "because [as his deputy] I have passively smoked with the governor for some years already".
His only gripe with his former boss is that, although inheriting some of the staff and functions of the Bank, he won't be allowed to take any of its excellent claret cellar to Canary Wharf: "The governor assures me it won't travel." David Shirreff