After a series of national and regional crises (Mexico, Asia, Russia, ...) the IMF Board adopted in 2000 a Financial Sector Assessment Program. The Fund would at regular intervals (of 3 to 5 years) conduct an in depth evaluation of the vulnerabilities of a country’s financial sector and the adequacy of prudential regulation and surveillance.
However, the membership could not agree, in a straightforward manner, that financial sector stability was an integral part of Fund surveillance, and therefore mandatory. The technical assistance nature of FSAPs was used by some countries to argue that the Fund should prioritise its resources to countries less equipped to conduct sound financial sector policies.