September 24, 2009

The former chief executive officer of BB&T spoke at the University of Louisville yesterday about his business philosophy, and offered opinions on current financial issues. WFPL’s Elizabeth Kramer has more.John Allison spoke at the university’s College of Business, which received a $1 million grant from BB&T’s foundation to create a course and other activities that cover the economic philosophy of Ayn Rand.Allison says problems in the banking industry can’t be attributed to the free-market economy and that the government should not constrain the industry now.

“We need less regulation, but we also need more punishment for those who fail,” he says. “So, that’s what we need, but if we move toward a more highly regulated environment which is on the table now there will be less variation, less profitability, less innovation, less creativity.”Allison says in a global economy regulation could cause talented and motivated people to move to countries with less regulated environments.BB&T is the nation’s 10th largest financial services company and Allison is its current board chairman.