At the recent summits in Washington, D.C., London and Pittsburgh, five areas were identified for joint action to improve global regulation and oversight, including: •  the strengthening of transparency and accountability;  •  the establishment of a sound regulatory framework and, in particular, the enhancement of Basel II;  •  the promotion of integrity in financial markets;  •  the reinforcement of international cooperation; and  •  the reform of international financial institutions, such as the IMF whose tools, funding, governance structure and mandate have all been upgraded.
Initiatives to safeguard financial stability are being coordinated at the global level by the Financial Stability Board (FSB). Central banks like the ECB are actively involved in this dialogue. But there are also important new initiatives in the area of both macro and microprudential supervision at the level of the European Union.