What financial companies could learn (but won’t) from the toy business.

When the industry is in chaos, people may not differentiate between the good and bad apples.

Not every Chinese factory is a baby killer. But in the wake of the lead-paint scare, Americans were much more hostile to products of Chinese origin, regardless of the original manufacturer.

That hasn’t stopped healthier financial players from standing out, with some AIG and Washington Mutual subsidiaries even taking out full-page newspaper ads. Scott Talbott, senior vice president for government affairs at the Financial Services Roundtable, told The Big Money that “institutions are using this as an opportunity to say ‘not us’ ” and gain more deposits. But the run on money market funds in mid-September showed that the public and other investors may not always heed this message.

Ask for more regulation early.