Fellow Governors, In my observation, I notice that a number of remarkable changes have occurred in the region. First is the heightened regional cooperation with the objective of establishing a regional self-help. Unlike most of their counterparts in other parts of the world, the latest financial crisis, among other factors, provides strong impetus for the monetary and financial cooperation in East Asia.
As a result, in an era of consolidation and innovation, banks could pursue merger partners and branching strategies on the basis of economics rather than geography while also consolidating and rationalizing their own legal structure. The boundaries between banking products and other financial service offerings have also become less clear.