New realities of forex reserves and management  (i)  Large increase: most rapid in Asia  In the aftermath of the Asian crises, it was widely perceived, supported by academic research and commentators, that large reserves were needed by emerging market economies (EMEs) to withstand any crisis and, to some extent, it was a reflection of the lack of confidence in the international financial architecture.
As a result, the recent episode of reserve accumulation has been on a much higher scale and more prolonged than was seen during the early 1990s.