In some parts of the country, prices have begun to rise only recently, so there are still large differences in the housing market across the country. As such, it is positive that the housing market is picking up. That is a natural element of the current upswing. But in the large towns and cities there is a risk of price increases being selfreinforcing.
The opacity of many highly structured products contributed importantly to the turmoil. Progress has been made in encouraging greater transparency. The FSF has provided a template for the disclosure of banks' exposures to these products. Closer to home, the Bank of Canada has set out disclosure requirements, available to all investors, for asset-backed commercial paper that it would be prepared to accept as collateral.