euthanasia of the irish bank credit analyst ( though not of course of the accountants! ). more important, and more broadly, restoration of market confidence in the banks and in the finances of the irish state will step by step be rebuilt by these and other measures to be contained in the programme on which negotiations have begun. this effort will help set the course of economic and financial policy on a more secure path leading to reduced uncertainty and a return to a sustainable path of employment growth and economic activity. we will have a slimmed down banking system that is much better placed to serve the needs of the economy into the future. while all of this will take some time to be worked through, we can be reassured by the announcements of recent days that the banking system retains the support, not only of the central bank of ireland, but of the european institutions. the globalization unleashed by whitaker ’ s initiatives in the 1950s generated great benefits and lifted living standards over the following two generations. analysing the distinctive structure of the economy that it created requires careful analysis of good accounting data, both national and private. some distortions have undoubtedly resulted in the process of globalization, not least the excessive dependence in the last number of years on foreign borrowing and its consequences. these distortions reflect the phenomenal ability of globalization to generate a rapid amplification of changes that would occur slowly in a closed and inward - looking economy and society. the rapid leap forward of the celtic tiger period was a favourable amplification ; the credit and construction bubble a disastrous one. this perspective suggests that, once we find our stride again, with the renewed help of the international and european partners with which we joined in 1957, 1973 and 1999, a favourable amplification will restore prosperity, albeit of a more sober variety.

asia has not only provided the impetus for the development of the domestic economies, but also enabled the region to emerge as an important economic bloc. a more recent phenomenon is the effort to promote greater regional financial integration through increased cross - border banking and financial activities within the region. financial institutions in asia are increasingly turning their focus to strengthening their regional presence taking advantage of asia ’ s enormous growth prospects. malaysian banks, for example, operate in 13 countries across asia, with total foreign assets expanding from only usd1 billion ringgit to more than usd100 billion between the period 2002 and 2010. our payment and settlement systems are also being linked to facilitate more cost - effective crossborder and efficient investment flows. efforts are currently underway to establish a pan - asian central securities depository alliance which will provide seamless accessibility to asian securities by international investors. the acceleration of regional financial integration in asia is contributing to the more effective intermediation of funds from the region to be channeled towards meeting the investment bis central bankers ’ speeches requirements of the region. over the next decade, asia ’ s projected infrastructure development expenditure alone will be twice the estimated savings within the region. this provides investors with new investment horizons and significant diversification opportunities. in charting the future for a more integrated asia, the developments surrounding the sovereign debt crisis in europe provides us with important lessons. despite having common rules and established institutional arrangements, achieving consensus and coordination have proven to be a major challenge in an environment in which there are also many national priorities. these differences in priorities become even more pronounced during a crisis. given that asia is a far more diverse region, a different approach to economic and financial integration is being pursued. the aim is to put in place elements that will facilitate the deepening of trade and investment linkages within asia while also collectively working towards strengthening asia ’ s resilience and stability. asia ’ s economic transformation, comprehensive financial sector reforms and fiscal prudence have provided important support to asia ’ s resilience and ability to withstand the destabilising spill - over effects of the current ongoing global financial and economic crisis. in addition, the regional surveillance mechanisms are being reinforced by financial support facilities and an integrated framework for crisis resolution. every financial crisis has prompted a review of the role, function and authority of central banks. indeed, developments in this recent four years have had profound implications on the central banks of crisis affected countries. the mandate of central banks for financial stability has generally been strengthened considerably to deal more effectively with risks in