*  *  *  By the standards of recent decades, the economic environment at the time of this symposium one year ago was quite challenging. A year after the onset of the current crisis in August 2007, financial markets remained stressed, the economy was slowing, and inflation – driven by a global commodity boom – had risen significantly.
But even in the services industry there is an overriding need to  BIS Review 37/2005  1  deal with global forces, regulatory and otherwise, and to ensure that the benefits of the services industry are maximised not only regionally but internationally.