Banks form the core of financial systems.
Since the late 1970s, virtually every country in Latin America has experienced banking sector problems. But they can also involve high costs for the international community, since, as you know from your experiences last year, banking problems in individual countries can easily spill over into other markets. The soundness of banking systems is, therefore, a matter of great concern for the IMF, the IDB, and all of our member countries. Transparency is a cardinal virtue in this domain, so let me be very candid with you, and tell you the following. And even if such a crisis does not start in the banking sector, it will almost certainly be worsened by a banking crisis.