The increase in the ratio of deficits of individual economic entities to GDP, as I noted earlier, is reflected in an ever-rising ratio of unconsolidated levels of debt to GDP. Facilitating the ability of residents of the United States and, presumably, other economies to accumulate this debt with limited stress has been the rising ratio of the market value of nonfinancial assets to GDP.
But we are not complacent, and we will be continuing to develop our regulations in light of market needs and evolving standards. On this note, let me now turn to my colleague from the EDB, Shaikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa, who will present in more detail Bahrain’s financial sector. BIS Review 53/2007  1