the global interbank funding market, but because of their strong balance sheets, canadian banks have been somewhat less affected. over time, market forces can still be expected to work out these problems. but markets need information to operate efficiently. so, it is in the interest of market participants to make sure that parties have access to all necessary information. globally, markets for structured asset - backed securities remain under stress. in canada, the problems have been most acute in the market for structured, non - bank - sponsored, assetbacked commercial paper. the information needed to properly price these products is only now beginning to be made available. with this information, investors and the providers of assets and liquidity are now progressing towards restructuring agreements. as we go forward, we can expect that investors will demand greater transparency where it is now lacking. vendors of financial instruments will then need to structure them in such a way that market players can clearly see what they are buying. more fundamentally, investors must take on more responsibility for diligent research, so that they can better understand the nature of their investments. put another way, investors must demand access to appropriate information so that they can do their own homework, and then they must do that homework. it seems to me that many of these desired outcomes will be accomplished through natural market forces responding to these events. for example, when investors demand much higher rates of return for opaque products, there will be a strong incentive for vendors to provide products that are more transparent. let me touch briefly on the role of credit - rating agencies in all of this. there is an article in the current fsr that expands on the issues related to the possible reform of the credit - rating process. 5 one thing that is clear is that in the future, credit - rating agencies will find it to their advantage to explain more clearly the rationale for, and limitations of, their ratings for highly structured products. there are some natural, self - correcting market forces at work that should lead the rating agencies to improve their processes. indeed, those credit - rating agencies that do not work harder to improve their processes will likely have fewer clients willing to pay for their services. as i understand it, most agencies are working on such improvements. but credit - rating agencies are not to blame for the lack of information about those highly structured products that were sold to highly - sophisticated investors in the so - called exempt market. in the retail market, securities regulators impose strict requirements about the information that must be provided

, fiscal agent, and adviser on funds management. the objective of this work is to provide these services effectively and efficiently. the responsibility includes managing canada's foreign exchange reserves, the government's cash, and, in collaboration with the department of finance, the public debt, including canada savings bonds, which go on sale this year on october 5. as part of this responsibility, the bank also gives advice to the department of finance on these issues, as well as on issues that have arisen in the context of the financial crisis. for example, our advice fed into the design of the insured mortgage purchase program, which allowed the federal government to buy pools of insured mortgages through the canada mortgage and housing corporation, as well as the design of the canadian secured credit facility, which was set up to purchase asset - backed securities. managing and providing advice on debt and reserves also require taking a long view. generally speaking, the management of financial assets and liabilities requires a forwardlooking risk - management framework, as well as long - term strategies. and of course it's essential to be completely transparent when it comes to managing government funds and public money. the bank discusses the various tools it uses and reports on the operations and actions it carries out to manage financial assets and the outstanding stock of federal debt. it does this via its own website, the department of finance's website, and in the bank's annual report. finally, in our funds - management work, we always look at the big picture. the range and complexity of operations and the need to carefully manage risk require us to consider a very broad picture when we develop our framework for the governance of funds management and formulate our policies. now i'll turn to the bank of canada's third area of responsibility – the financial system. financial system as recent events have made clear, a sound financial system is essential to a well - functioning economy. the objective of the bank's work here is to promote the stability and efficiency of the financial system, both domestically and globally. to achieve this objective, we again take the long view. together with other policy - makers in canada and abroad, the bank strives to develop, and contribute to, policy that will help to sustain a stable and efficient financial system over time. this long - term focus aids in creating and maintaining an environment in which risks can be properly assessed and sound investment decisions effectively made. that said, we also have to be nimble,