17  I refer here to the concept of “limited access social orders”, see North, D., J. Wallis and B. Weingast (2009). Violence and Social Orders: A Conceptual Framework for Interpreting Recorded Human History, Cambridge University Press. BIS central bankers’ speeches  5  At European level, we need to provide a framework that supports and incentivises the introduction of such national policies. This is the role of economic union in the euro area, the “E” of EMU. I would stress, however, that economic union does not mean defining a single economic model across all countries. On the contrary, its purpose is to create the conditions for each country to identify and develop its comparative advantage. Paradoxically, it is only by encouraging difference – comparative advantage – that the euro area can achieve convergence – that is, a more even distribution of economic outcomes. Avoiding re-nationalisation and protectionism Let me finally address the third lesson learnt from East Asia. Europe needs to avoid protectionist temptations and calls for re-nationalisation. Protectionism and beggar-thyneighbour policies would lead to further losses of welfare at both European and global level. Fortunately, there has been no significant surge in barriers to global trade in recent years – unlike during the Great Depression – thanks to global and regional policy coordination. These efforts remain important. Barriers to trade in goods and services cannot be raised within Europe thanks to our Single Market and competition rules which are enshrined in European laws, but the Single Market can be further enhanced.

The establishment of the Deposit Protection Agency should reduce banks’ moral hazard and  4  BIS Review 54/2008  introduce more market discipline to the banking sector by putting pressure on banks to improve financial strengths if they want to attract and retain depositors. I now turn to the Bank of Thailand’s financial sector master plan (FSMP). You may recall that the implementation of the first master plan started in 2004 and was completed in March 2007, when the last commercial bank licensed under the plan started its operation. Key initiatives under the first plan involved 1) improving financial access, 2) increasing efficiency of the banking sector through removal of regulatory obstacles to market development and through consolidation of smaller financial institutions, and 3) strengthening market discipline through more stringent information disclosure and enhanced consumer protection mechanism. Through licensing reform and the so-called one-presence policy, there has been a significant consolidation and reduction in the number of financial institutions under the supervision of the Bank of Thailand. While evaluation of FSMP Phase I is currently being undertaken, there is evidence to suggest that the banking sector has shown improvement in both operating efficiency and resiliency. Turning to the second-phased financial sector master plan, the overarching objective is to improve efficiency, competitiveness, and resiliency of the financial sector. The goal is that financial institutions can more effectively perform their intermediary functions and meet the challenges of a rapidly changing environment.