Indeed, bank loans account for a much larger share of financing to households and firms in the euro area than in the Anglo-Saxon countries, where non-bank financial institutions and capital markets provide alternative sources of funds.
We have to be outward looking and our objective should be to bring about coherence and consistency in our macroeconomic policies that attract direct foreign investment. The Annual Report of ACU for the current year (2004) indicates that even though intra-regional trade is growing, the operations through the Asian Clearing Union are limited. Our efforts to expand its membership have not as yet succeeded.