However, it is far more difficult to deal with, in periods of unanticipated system-wide demand for liquidity During times of system-wide stress, such as the one we have just experienced, significant liquidity demands can come from both the asset and the liability side of a bank's balance sheet. On the liability side, banks can face challenges in refinancing short-term debt in the money markets.
This is such a significant issue for us in the Pacific given our not-so developed secondary money market. On the asset side, off-balance-sheet exposures can unexpectedly come onto a bank's balance sheet.