crisis. it is seen as proving one of the better surveillance mechanisms among the regional groups and also takes an interest in global architecture issues. it could be ( but is not yet ) the forum for developing regional positions which are then taken to world forums such as imfc and g20. one of its main initial functions was to provide a co - operative financing arrangement to supplement imf resources. this was initially reflected in the second line of defence facilities offered to indonesia and korea. more recently the idea has been revived, with discussions underway on the possibility of a more formal on - going arrangement. • emeap is a narrower group in two senses. it is a purely central bank forum, drawn from the east asian core of the above two groups. emeap's stated goal has been to strengthen the co - operative relationship among the central banks of the region, although various members have held ambitions of the group becoming a more substantial organisation, along the lines of the bis. the furthest emeap has moved down this track is a system of bilateral repurchase agreements over us treasuries, to provide short - term foreign currency liquidity support. emeap's strength is its specialist working groups, which promote good practices and better understanding at a technical level. this is, potentially, the forum for developing regional consensus on such issues as capital flows ( chilean - style inflow taxes : dealing with in extremis crisis resolution ). the value of the forum at the highest level is now being tested by the formation of the bis asian consultative council, which has drawn asian countries more into the mainstream of bis activities. this is already the forum for developing regional positions on financial issues, so the close link with the bis is natural and logical. • compared with other regional groups, there is perhaps a greater uniformity of interests and views within asean, and it has been going longest. asean has some runs on the board already with the asean free trade area ( which has been strengthened since the crisis ) and a multilateral foreign currency swap arrangement. more recently, asean has set up a surveillance mechanism, with the assistance of the adb, in an effort to foresee and forestall crises. • the broad agenda of asean + 3 covers economic, social and political fields. however, its most important achievement has been the chiang mai initiative, which incorporates, among other things, a regional financing arrangement ( building on the asean arrangements ) to supplement existing international facilities. the significant momentum

obsession with the financial market regulators in general and more specifically with the indian financial market regulators. the reserve bank of india, being the oldest among the financial market regulators has a long history of persisting with this obsession. its efforts include establishing and operating or being a catalyst for the formation of very many capacity building organisations, not just for itself, but also for the banking and even the financial sectors. these institutions have catered to training, higher bis central bankers ’ speeches academic research, technology, education and certification, etc needs of the sector. there is really a very long pedigree of institutions established / catalysed by the reserve bank right from early 1950s. these are the reserve bank staff college, the bankers training college ( btc ), the college of agricultural banking ( cab ), the indira gandhi institute of development research ( igidr ), the institute for development and research in banking technology ( idrbt ), the national institute of bank management ( nibm ), the indian institute of banking and finance ( iibf ), indian institute of bank management ( iibm ), institute for banking personnel selection ( ibps ) and now the centre for advanced financial research and learning ( cafral ). and, we have not yet stopped ; we are now at work to establish an rbi academy. 6. the other financial market regulators who came later have also imbibed this spirit and have established institutions to meet the needs of their sectors. for example, the securities and exchange board of india ( sebi ) has established the national institute of securities management ( nism ) and the insurance regulatory and development authority of india ( irdai ) has established the institute of insurance and risk management ( iirm ). 7. we can also observe this trend in the regulators of other countries as well, be it in a developed nation or in a developing nation or region. the federal reserve bank, the bank of england, the bundesbank, the banque de france, the international monetary fund, the world bank and others have all established capacity building institutions and arrangements. why this obsession? 8. finance is primarily a knowledge oriented activity. the chief capital and inputs required for this sector all relate to “ information ” and “ knowledge ”. this “ information ” and “ knowledge ” is highly dynamic ; new research and new concepts crop up every often. the paradigm changes in the sector has very wide ramifications ; the sector is highly interconnected ; happenings in this sector has high visibility