Despite this notable progress, there remains opportunities to leverage more on existing platforms to address more recent challenges pertaining to cross border issues such as regulatory arbitrage, facilitating financial integration, and establishing a more robust framework for regional macro surveillance and crisis management. The global crisis experience also offers important insights that could further deepen our understanding and cement cooperation in the area of cross border resolution of problem institutions. The ongoing efforts in Europe to implement "living wills" would be of significant interest to this region, from the perspective of their construction as well as implementation. While these approaches are still untested, this exercise will make an important contribution to deepen our understanding on the relevance of business models and the different regulatory structures and legal systems that have an important bearing on the operations of significant institutions with cross border operations. BIS central bankers’ speeches  3  Moving forward, more experience is still to be gained in regard to effective financial stability communication strategy, an element that has not received much attention until the recent crisis. Credible financial stability communication strategies, particularly during periods of heightened uncertainties will require appropriate timing and delivery as well as effective coordination among relevant agencies. The effective coordination of announcements on the blanket government guarantee and liquidity measures in Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong during the recent crisis for instance, had helped sustained the overall confidence in our financial markets.

Even controversial issues that were long blocking international negotiations, as the Doha agenda, received a new momentum in the G20 communiqué. So far, as you all know, significant progress has been achieved in terms of recognition of the causes of the crises, including development of unsound risk management practices and excessive leverage, in a time regulators in many jurisdictions failed to perceive the build up of unbalances in individual institutions and financial markets in general. At the same time, each country in one way or another has taken actions to provide liquidity and unfreeze credit markets, and when necessary – particularly in mature economies – to stimulate the economy, strengthen the capital basis of financial institutions and tackle regulatory deficiencies. That said, authorities in Washington committed to implement reforms that will strengthen financial markets and regulatory regimes. An important novelty is the recognition that financial markets are global in scope, so that enhanced international cooperation among regulators is needed in a globalized world. Commitment to reform the multilateral institutions to increase their legitimacy and effectiveness has also progressed, granting a larger weight in their decision bodies to emerging economies, as well as expanding the representativeness of the Financial Stability Forum and of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. The IMF and the expanded Financial Stability Forum are called to increase efforts in crisis prevention and responses.