. the transformation process in the former socialist countries has made us aware of just how important institutional frameworks are. we have now become more aware again of the importance of thinking about statutory frameworks, not least in the financial world. the academic debate about the correct strategy for monetary policy goes on and on. with the creation of the ecb the debate has actually become livelier again. i could cite many more examples to show that, even today, there is no automatic means of ensuring stable money and stable markets. it is an ongoing task. in the words of goethe : “ what you have inherited from your fathers / earn over again for yourselves, in order to possess it. ” in this sense it is the task of the monetary stability foundation to encourage research in this area. and, what is more, on a broad basis. the funds which are already available for this purpose come from the issue of a dm 1 gold coin by the bundesbank. indeed, last summer we experienced an unusually heavy demand for this gold coin. part of the net proceeds, dm 100 million ( or € 51 million ), forms the foundation's capital base. this link to the d - mark once again underlines quite clearly how much the foundation is bound to monetary stability. by far the greatest part of the foundation's funds will be used to finance a research unit, which is to be linked to a university. this research is to be of an interdisciplinary nature. monetary stability is to be studied from the point of view of economics, finance and law. it is our desire that this centre will pursue new avenues of academic study and policy consultation. interested institutions are currently being asked to apply. eighteen universities have expressed interest in the first round. however, it will take some time yet before the process can be finalised. a small part of the foundation's income will be used in future to finance scholarships and conferences. and that brings me back to the point of our being here today : the inaugural conference of the new foundation. it is also my cue to hand you over to professor hermann remsperger, chairman of the supervisory board of the monetary stability foundation. he will make a start to the conference, which i now declare open. i hope that all of you enjoy two interesting and informative days in frankfurt. thank you very much.

the areas of accounting, auditing, governance, ethics and shariah for the international islamic financial industry. further progress on two fronts remains important. the first is to continue to evolve a more refined distinction within prudential and financial reporting frameworks to reflect the different nature and profile of risks under risk - sharing contract arrangements. the second is the need to accelerate efforts to further strengthen the infrastructural underpinnings for the development of the overall islamic financial system. while the broad regulatory principles and standards developed in the aftermath of the global financial crisis can be applied to most islamic finance transactions, a broad - brush application of these rules would limit the ability of islamic financial institutions to implement the more unique risk - sharing contract arrangements. the stage of development of the overall financial system in which islamic finance operates must also be considered to ensure that the effective application of global standards can be achieved without unintended consequences, given the prevailing associated constraints. islamic banks today continue to be confronted with limitations in the availability of a sufficiently deep and diverse pool of shariah compliant instruments – in both domestic and international currencies – in which they can invest. under the strengthened international capital and liquidity standards, this can result in higher costs of compliance, inefficiencies in funding structures and increased risks of funding mismatches. strengthening prudential standards alone would therefore be an incomplete response to building a strong foundation for the future of islamic finance. beyond the more stringent capital and liquidity standards, a further response to strengthen the global islamic financial system should therefore also include measures to strengthen the infrastructural underpinnings and building blocks of the industry. it is equally important that initiatives such bis central bankers ’ speeches as the establishment of the international islamic liquidity management corporation ( iilm ) to support cross - border liquidity management by islamic financial institutions, continue to be pursued. the recent sukuk issuance by iilm represents a major breakthrough in global cooperation on islamic finance which has made available short - term usd shariah compliant instruments in the global market to islamic financial institutions to facilitate more efficient management of their cross - border liquidity requirements. as islamic finance further evolves and advances, more fundamental questions on the framework for financial stability in the context of islamic finance will need to be addressed. at a national level, such questions will include the relevance and design of financial safety nets such as deposit insurance and lender of last resort facilities in an islamic