Longer-term, an Asian Reconstruction Fund could also help settle any remaining bad debts and sell nonperforming assets, from office towers to factories. That means finding buyers around the world and within the region to pick up these assets at discount prices. That would also help channel investment back to Asia. Another agency must devise uniform rules of disclosure and supervision of the region's banking and corporate sectors. For any of this to work, however, a tremendous amount of political salesmanship is ahead.
Asian leaders have to convince their populations that there is no way to avoid a wrenching shakeup.
And with congressional critics on the right and left already gearing up to take aim at the IMF, Clinton will have to explain why more American funds should be sunk into the Asian money pit. To date, he has not started. But before Congress and other Western governments sign on, there must be clear evidence Asian aid won't simply end up in the pockets of the old-guard political cronies or the irresponsible industrialists. Of course, all these measures will be meaningless unless Japan also makes some serious commitments. So far, Tokyo has stood out as one of the chief villains in the crisis.