The ECB has set high standards in both regards by establishing channels for communication and accountability suited to the specific, and distinctive, institutional and cultural setting in Europe. I will return to the important issue of communication later in my remarks. With regard to accountability, let me simply highlight one crucial point.
AIG was exposed to these problems because of the protection Financial Products had written on mortgage-related securities, because of investments AIG had made in mortgage-related securities in connection with its securities lending program, and because its counterparties had begun to withdraw funding. These pressures mounted through September.