When you think of recent crises in Southeast Asia and in Brazil, the first thing that strikes you is that they all occurred in countries with fixed exchange rates. 3  BIS Review 50/1999  I would argue that, in most of these cases, greater exchange rate flexibility would have helped to make borrowers and lenders more aware of exchange rate risks.
And so I find it encouraging that some of the crisis-afflicted emerging countries have since moved towards more flexible exchange rates. Let me now say a word about the need to devise processes for the effective management and resolution of future crises, should they occur.