Good morning. My colleagues and I at the Monetary Authority of Singapore are delighted to welcome you to Singapore, and to the 16th International Conference of Banking Supervisors (ICBS). We are honoured to join the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) as organisers of the conference.
Looking back on the crisis
When we last met in Brussels in September 2008, the collapse of Lehman Brothers triggered a tail-spin in the global financial system. The global economic outlook was then grim. Decisive policy action has averted the worst scenarios of the crises, and the overall situation has improved significantly. Still, financial vulnerabilities and uncertainty over the pace of global economic recovery remain.
This year’s ICBS comes at a critical juncture. In the last two years, all of us, as national financial authorities, have undertaken extensive reviews to enhance the resilience of our financial systems. Globally, the FSB and IMF have been working to forge agreement on measures to prevent and mitigate a crisis of such systemic proportions. In particular, the Basel Committee under the leadership of Governor Nout Wellink has been at the forefront of devising a new regulatory framework that underpins and fosters a more resilient global banking system.