Strengthening Asia's financial safety net

The 1997–1998 Asian financial crisis and the 2008–2009 global financial crisis emphasized the need for international cooperation in responding to systemic failure in an increasingly globalized financial system. As previous crises demonstrated, adequate financial safety net arrangements—globally, regionally, and nationally—are vital to safeguard financial stability and enhance resilience across Asia and the Pacific. They must be sufficiently complementary and comprehensive to create a prevention and response package that both stabilizes and buttresses needed liquidity, while working to correct the imbalances that originally led to the instability.