As we all know, the global regulatory reform basically addresses the lessons learned from the crisis that insufficient capital and liquidity buffers, non-adequate on and off-balance sheet risk coverage and excessive leverage can undermine the stability of the financial system. The role of statistics in this regard is to improve the current statistical frameworks and to design new frameworks so as to provide adequate information for detecting vulnerabilities in the financial sector. Main venues in this regard are: redesign of the set of financial stability indicators to improve their value added for assessing the health of the financial systems, measurement of aggregate leverage and maturity mismatches, coverage of tail risks, more transparency about complex structured products and credit default swaps, and improvement of securities statistics. Adequate coverage of the unregulated institutions and instruments (the “shadow banking system”) seems also a key for having a complete risk-map. The need to supplement averages, with ranges and distribution was clearly demonstrated with the crisis. BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  2. Cross-border financial links should be covered more properly within national financial stability assessments. In the world of fast growing financial integration and creation of large multinational financial groups, data on these networks are indispensible for a proper financial stability assessment within the country. Enhancement of information on systemically important global financial institutions, and initiating data gathering of crossborder flows seems to become a “must” nowadays for a proper assessment of the stability of national financial systems. 3.

It is true that, more often than not, we come to the conclusion that the balance of advantage lies in not intervening; and, I must confess, I would be alarmed if we didn’t. Yet, in all cases, the decision is made positively, and not by default, and it is not the non-outcome of a do-nothing approach. But, there are many examples of the Government deciding, usually on the advice of its boards and committees, to intervene, in one way or another, in the free play of market forces.” Indeed there are many examples of intervention. We built the airport because, without government intervention, it would simply not have been economically viable. We built roads and bridges. We provided public housing, medical services, the list is long. But we tend to do less than other jurisdictions and so the size of our public sector in relation to gross domestic product is one of the smallest in the world. Specifically in the monetary and financial systems, there is significant intervention in the form of the regulation of financial markets and the supervision of financial institutions. This is precisely because we feel that, in the words of Sir Philip, ‘the balance of advantage’ lies in so intervening and because ‘imperfections in the operation of the market mechanism [may lead] to economic inefficiency’. In very much the same spirit, we intervened in 1996 and built a real time payment system because the private sector was not able to come up with this highly desirable piece of financial infrastructure.