In other words, we are in the business of monitoring "downside risk" to the financial system, so we must act appropriately when we see possibly excessive risk-taking or inappropriate risk management, controls, or capital. While most U.S. banks today operate in a safe and sound manner, we must always be vigilant of future problems.
Large balance-of-payments imbalances had been built up, with Germany and the Netherlands running surpluses of around 5% of GDP and the so called peripheral countries reporting deficits of 5% of GDP or more. The current account deficits were a signal of major structural imbalances, such as in public finances. When investors became reluctant to finance the deficits, the debt crisis unfolded.