They serve as effective mechanisms for crisis prevention and crisis containment and hence do deserve a closer look. Following the Asian crisis, the need to strengthen the international financial architecture was widely recognized. A major initiative was clearly the creation of the Financial Stability Forum (FSF) in 1999 and its work on developing and implementing financial standards and codes.
Most relevant are the 12 standards that the FSF has designated as key to strengthening and preserving the soundness of financial systems and that cover a broad range of subject areas. These standards pertain to macroeconomic policy and transparency, institutional and market infrastructure as well as financial regulation and supervision.