of multi - currency liquidity support to ccps established in the uk and euro area, but again, there is no pre - commitment and the provision of liquidity remains at the full discretion of the central bank issuing the respective currency. bis central bankers ’ speeches however, even enhanced recovery tools may not be enough to prevent the ccp from being resolved, first of all because it is impossible to estimate ex ante the size of potential uncovered exposures, secondly because under certain circumstances it might be preferable to resolve a ccp – especially if the market has lost confidence in this ccp as a going concern. effective ccp resolution as an ultimate tool. lastly, we need to assess whether more assurances are needed so that a ccp can be effectively resolved and can re - launch its viable operations, and whether the measures discussed before are either ineffective or out of line with market preferences. much like recovery frameworks, ccp resolution frameworks are currently being designed and implemented across jurisdictions. the fsb is reviewing ccp resolution regimes and resolution planning arrangements. based on this review, it may develop minimum standards for ccp resolution planning, strategies and tools without resorting to a government bailout, and without resulting in contagion to other parts of the financial system. meanwhile, the european commission is preparing specific eu legislation. if, after an in - depth assessment, authorities come to the conclusion that an additional source of financial resources is needed, what form should these extra funds take? let me first reiterate that any bailout of ccps with public money should be categorically excluded. resolution plans should fully allocate losses to ccps and their participants. having clarified this point, i can potentially see four main ways of increasing resolution capacity : the first would be to increase the amount of regulatory capital held by ccps, and explicitly ring - fence a share of this capital as a means to recapitalise a new entity in a resolution scenario. in the eu, ccps are required to hold sufficient own resources to cover operating costs over a six - month period – this requirement could be strengthened, not only in order to cover for a potential wind - down, but also to meet the funding costs of a new entity. for the reasons described above, i believe there would be important drawbacks in relying only on ccps to increase their regulatory capital. ccps should provide a proportional contribution to the resolution process, but should not bear all the costs. a second policy

rasheed mohammed al maraj : bahrain develops its financial centre in the gulf region address by his excellency rasheed mohammed al maraj, governor of the central bank of bahrain, at the bnp paribas – inauguration of new premises at the bahrain financial harbor, manama, 9 november 2008. * * * monsieur de courscel, monsieur durand, ladies and gentlemen : it is an honour and a pleasure for me to join you today to celebrate the formal opening of the bnp paribas premises at the bahrain financial harbor. may i welcome m. de courscel and his colleagues who have travelled from paris to be with us today. their presence is indicative of the importance that bnp paribas places on the development of its business in the gulf region and an acknowledgement of the role of bahrain as the leading financial centre of the region, can play in that development. the bank ’ s relationship with bahrain goes back nearly 35 years and this relationship has been rather special. with the granting of a full commercial banking licence in february 1975, the bank became the first european mainland banking institution to conduct business in bahrain. later in the same year, the bank was one of the first international institutions to be granted an offshore banking unit licence. therefore, from an historical perspective alone, the bank has been closely involved in, and has become an integral part of, bahrain ’ s development as an international financial centre. the professional competence of its staff, the commitment of local management to maintain and enhance its operational base in bahrain, and the support given to this concept by its regional and head office directors, have been foundations upon which a success story has been built. at the beginning of this decade, bahrain was officially appointed as the hub for the bank ’ s regional operations. the opening of these splendid premises at the bahrain financial harbor are a physical expression of the success that bnp paribas has subsequently enjoyed in the region. these are, of course, challenging times for the global financial system. there now seems little doubt that, in the short term at least, this region will not remain unaffected by the global economic downturn. however, it is important to look beyond the immediate picture and focus instead on the long - run prospects for global and regional economic growth. the fact that bnp paribas is now strengthening its commitment to this region, is testament to its view that many good business opportunities are still to be found here. i am confident that the success that bn