He said the fine, which he paid to avoid an expensive trial, was an example of overzealous regulators at work.

He blames overzealous regulators for his problems.

The law needs to constrain overzealous regulators, no matter how good their intentions.

Certainly, Mr. Greenberg's famous complaints about overzealous regulators and A.I.G.'s being above the fray will no longer be heard.

He was labeled "an overzealous regulator," and a high-handed chairman who didn't consult with his colleagues.

But he has also gone on record echoing industry complaints about overzealous regulators.

Mr. Keating has denied all the charges and said Lincoln's collapse was a result of what he called overzealous and incompetent regulators.

To the overzealous regulators: you've met the enemy and it's called the Competitiveness Council.

The biggest risk now, he said, is that overzealous regulators could frighten honest chief executives into ducking legitimate risks.

Where they disagree is whether the Government's action stems from overzealous regulators or Mr. Fishbein's very success, which may have bred in him feelings of invulnerability.