Paul Volcker had a surprising answer recently when asked what the most important innovation of the last decade was: the ATM. This may have been delivered tongue-in-cheek.

As the Financial Times notes, it may be a swipe at the other would-be big-deal "innovations" that seemed to do more harm than good--like the rise of certain derivatives and trading systems. Volcker's message may have been a straight one. It's a tool that really did help people, in much the same way that online banking and perhaps mobile banking do now. ATMs are consumer- and small business- focused, and aren't responsible for the carnage we're now living through. You can't blame poor capital ratios on the ATM. So what's your sense? Is it really the innovation of the decade? 

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