The aim is to ensure that these banks’ finances are sound before the SSM is launched so that they are not found to have major write-down needs just after the SSM has started its work. That would be a heavy political burden for the SSM to bear – especially if banks then had to be recapitalised or restructured following such write-downs.
We can with all justification quote Khayyám and say: “The Bird of Time has but a little way To fly -- and Lo! the Bird is on the Wing” I believe that this Conference will serve to bring this message more clearly to all parties concerned, and particularly to the financial regulators and supervisors of the Southern Africa region.