the region. countries in the same region tend to possess better understanding and coordination, and therefore, policies and initiatives at the regional level can be more effective and timely. second, while the asian financial crisis was a wake up call for asia on the need for regional liquidity facility, asian countries need to consider making such facility sufficiently large and effective with timely disbursement in light of the current global crisis. during the asian financial crisis, more than 75 % of the imf ’ s financial package for thailand came from the funding within the region. the present global situation has also reconfirmed the vision set for the by the chiang mai initiative ( cmi ) that asia needs to have its own regional liquidity facility to protect itself from contagion, be it caused within the region or from outside. it is therefore timely that coordination and cooperation among countries be further strengthened to ensure that prompt remedial actions can be put in place in light of the ongoing global financial crisis. ladies and gentlemen, to conclude, i wish to remind you that the present situation calls for the need to greater international cooperation, which requires concerted efforts by international organizations, regional cooperation and national governments, in combating the global financial crisis. regional cooperation must be coherent with national policy and work hand - in - hand with international cooperation. the impact of crisis today and the effect of the unwinding of measures taken would not be a zero - sum game, and all players could potentially lose. thus, going forward, finding the right balance and creating ties between these three, namely international, regional and national interests, will be an important task for national authorities. thank you.

“ the role of finance and banking for the prosperity of asia ” speech by dr. veerathai santiprabhob governor of the bank of thailand iif lunch seminar during the 50th anniversary adb annual meeting 6 may 2017, yokohama, japan mr. timothy adams, president of the institute of international finance, iif fellows, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, a very good afternoon to you all. i am honoured to be here today and be a part of this remarkable event celebrating the 50th anniversary of the asian development bank. i would like to thank the institute of international finance for hosting this lunch seminar and for inviting me to share with you my thought. throughout the past five decades of the asian development bank, the adb has been a trusted development partner of the public and private sectors in asia. its lending packages, technical assistance along with policy dialogues have been tailored to specific needs of member countries, and have helped reduce poverty and laid foundations for inclusive and sustainable growth in asia. evidently, the number of people living in extreme poverty has fallen markedly across asia throughout the past decades. half a century is an important milestone. it is an opportune time to look back and look forward. my topic for today is “ the role of finance and banking for the prosperity of asia ”. i will start off briefly with the past journey of asian development, and then focus on how to prepare our bank centric financial system for challenges and opportunities that lie ahead in this rapidly evolving economic environment and financial landscape. having a smooth - functioning financial system is of course a necessary condition for growth as finance is often referred to as the life blood of the economy. on the other hand, if the blood is infected, it could lead to severe malfunctions of the body and serious adverse consequences. thus, going forward, in pursuit of the prosperity of asia, i propose that the role of finance and banking must focus on three key words : “ productivity, immunity, and inclusion ”. i will come back to these three key words later in my talk. ladies and gentlemen, let ’ s begin by looking back over the past fifty years. undoubtedly, it has been an incredible journey of asia ’ s achievements. from a primarily agrarian and poor region in the 1960s, asia has transformed itself into today ’ s key engine of the global economy. according to the latest imf ’ s world economic outlook, emerging and developing asia is expected to grow at 6. 4 percent in 2017, making it the