understanding of the spirit of cooperation that should underlie the hkab guidelines. negotiation should not be by ultimatum. * second, the growing number of workouts is stretching resources. this is holding up progress in some workouts and is leading to concerns that more and more smaller companies could end up in liquidation because the banks lack the resources to deal with their problems. banks may therefore need to strengthen their workout teams, though i admit that this is easier said than done. * third, there is a view that burden of handling workouts could be more evenly spread among the banks. the role of lead bank in hong kong is generally conducted by only two of the larger banks. while these banks have the skills and experience to do the job, even their resources are not inexhaustible. there may be a case to spread the role of lead bank more widely, or at least for banks to make a bigger contribution in steering committees. steering committee members should strive to represent the interests of the bank group as a whole rather than their own interests. the representatives of banks on steering committees should also have the right level of knowledge and experience to understand the issues and to make a real contribution to driving the process along. they should also of course turn up to meetings in the first place. * fourth, banks need to be able to respond more quickly to restructuring proposals that are presented to them for approval. at present, it seems that the decision - making process can get bogged down in internal bureaucracies within banks, particularly when proposals have to be sent to head office for approval. while decisions are delayed, companies can bleed to death. * finally, and i realize that this is a contentious point, banks should be realistic and pragmatic about what they can expect to get out of restructuring. while they should obviously be trying to extract the best possible deal from the company and its shareholders, this should not be at the expense of jeopardizing the company ’ s future business viability. all this results in a process which is often more protracted than it need be. the company suffers an escalation of legal and advisory costs and can hardly operate normally while its survival is being negotiated. let me turn to what the hkma can do to assist in easing some of these difficulties. i should stress first of all that the hkma is a strong supporter of the workout concept and of the hkab guidelines. as set out in the guidelines, we have indicated that we are prepared to help

delta. looking back, i see the " sadie parallel " not just in the academic path i took, but in the community i joined. i was surrounded by brilliant, fearless, thoughtful, civicminded women who prized intellect, hard work, and public service. they were as aspirational and inspirational as sadie tanner mossell alexander was. but while she was a singular pioneer in her field, my classmates were legion - not one future scientist or politician or executive or lawyer or medical doctor, but dozens. the spelman students who intern this summer at top - tier law firms and fortune 500 companies will likely see executives and senior leaders who look like them. deltas and 1 / 3 bis - central bankers'speeches other members of the divine nine sororities among them will likely meet fellow sorority members on day one. diversity is essential in every profession. that is especially true in professions that thrive and evolve by answering questions, like economics. the american economy is a vast and intricate machine that is made up of its people. a profession that analyzes the lives and behavior of the country is at its best when it reflects the population it seeks to understand. as a result, we can pose questions that come from different perspectives. everyone here knows the data on representation and the research on the experiences of economists from underrepresented backgrounds. we also know that economic conundrums persist. and we know that solutions are more likely to come if more people from different backgrounds enter the field and if each wave of newly minted economists reflects the makeup of the country. we are more likely to consider professions when we see ourselves reflected in their ranks, especially in prominent positions. that can be a catch - 22 : you cannot see yourself reflected in the ranks if you are underrepresented, yet you cannot grow the ranks without representation. but our hands are not tied. we can do more to raise the profiles of past and present standouts in the field, like dr. alexander - especially during black history month, i think about the names we remember and how we can expand the roster for historical contributions. but we should also strive to celebrate our contemporaries in the now, to ensure that history records their excellence, like willene johnson, margaret sims, erika james, julianne malveaux, cecilia conrad, and ebonya washington. anna gifty opokuagyeman and fanta traora©. my mentors, alice rivlin, emmett rice, sandy darity,