This was compounded with concerns over credit crunch in the international financial market stemming from the Russian crisis and problems at some US hedge funds, with the result that many Japanese banks experienced difficulties in securing foreign currency funding.
Role of the Central Bank I would like to start by briefly putting the role of the Central Bank in context by describing the new regulatory structures that are now in place following the establishment of the new Financial Services Regulator and our own restructuring last year. On the first of May 2003 the Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland was established.