*  *  *  Good morning Ladies and Gentlemen: I am pleased to welcome you to Bahrain for the 2009 Middle East Financial Technology Exhibition and Conference, or MEFTEC as it is popularly called. This morning, as I look around, I am happy to see that this event continues to arouse so much interest.
In the current situation, where escalating house prices are presenting a threat to financial stability but not yet to general inflation, macro-prudential policy offers the most appropriate response. BIS central bankers’ speeches  5  3.