mr lee examines issues relating to the changing financial landscape keynote address by mr lee hsien loong, chairman of the board of directors of the monetary authority of singapore and deputy prime minister, at the 16th general meeting of the asian bankers association, held in singapore on 26 november 1999. introduction the international financial landscape is changing rapidly. in asia, economies and financial systems have undergone a traumatic two years. weakening economies uncovered flaws in financial institutions and supervision. entire financial systems went down, undermined by slack lending practices and inadequate legal frameworks. the financial troubles in turn affected the real sector, sending economies into steep decline. now the crisis is passing. in many countries, macro indicators have stabilised, and growth has resumed. but it will take years of hard work to clean up the bad loans, recapitalise the banks, strengthen the legal and supervisory framework, change long established cosy relationships, and put long - term growth on a firmer foundation. while asia has been preoccupied with reconstruction and recovery, globalisation and technology have progressed apace, especially in the us and europe. technology is both a critical cause and a catalyst. financial arenas are becoming more open, new products and services are being invented and marketed, and regulators everywhere are scrambling to assess the changes and master the flux. an international wave of mergers and acquisitions has swept the industry, as boundaries between financial sectors and products have blurred dramatically. the recent repeal of the glass - steagall act in the us will allow the creation of “ financial super - markets ” or one - stop shops that offer banking, securities and insurance services, and further push this trend towards consolidation. developments in banking in this brave new world, one fact remains unchanged : the need for countries to have sound, resilient banking systems, and strong banks. but countries cannot achieve this by closing their markets and excluding foreign competition, except at a very high price. instead, they must use competition to strengthen and upgrade their institutions, so that they can hold their own in an increasingly open environment. this is why singapore has embarked on a five - year bank liberalisation programme, granting foreign banks new licences and more access to the domestic market, lifting foreign ownership restrictions on local banks, and upgrading standards of disclosure and corporate governance of local banks. corporate governance strengthening corporate governance is key to upgrading standards of integrity, professionalism and service in banks in asia. relationships between shareholders, the board of directors, management, and other stakeholders must all be configured in a

2020 ), “ index of common inflation expectations, ” feds notes ( washington : board of governors of the federal reserve system, september 2 ), doi. org / 10. 17016 / 2380 – 7172. 2551. the cie data are available through the second quarter on the board ’ s website at www. federalreserve. gov / econres / notes / feds - notes / research - dataseries - index - of - common - inflation - expectations - 20210305. htm. return to text 3 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches