A new liquidity regulation is currently in the test and calibration phase. This regulation takes into account all balance-sheet and off-balance-sheet items that are of relevance in liquidity considerations, and is based – as far as possible – on internal bank liquidity management principles. It makes the big banks more resilient to disturbances in the interbank market or larger-scale withdrawals of deposits. It promotes longer-term financing as well as higher-rated securities that are capable of generating liquidity even in a stressed market environment. The new regulation is due to come into force in the second quarter of 2010. These advances and the broad consensus achieved at the international level can certainly be regarded as positive achievements. However, so far they only apply to preventative measures. As mentioned previously, these measures serve to reduce the probability of a crisis, but cannot always prevent its occurrence. Another crisis is inevitable and we must be prepared for it. 3. Resolution measures needed; “too big to fail” is biggest challenge  Consequently, we need tools that will substantially reduce the costs of a crisis. The legacy of the current crisis is a banking system with large international institutions that now enjoy a virtual state guarantee. The fact that systemically important banks enjoy such a guarantee is now openly recognised to be a problem by the banking sector, too. A guarantee of this kind contradicts the basic principle of the market economy and presents us with a situation that cannot be tolerated.
Philipp Hildebrand: Review of the international financial system Introductory remarks by Mr Philipp Hildebrand, Vice-Chairman of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank, at the end-of-year media news conference, Zurich, 10 December 2009. * 1. *  *  Introduction  At the news conference in June of this year we spoke of a gradual calming in the general financial market environment, although the outlook remains uncertain. Since then we have seen a majority of banks returning to profitability. The horror stories being reported almost daily just over a year ago have now disappeared. It is very tempting just to go back to business as usual. However, we must not forget that – just over a year ago now – the international financial system was on the brink of collapse. Support packages of an unprecedented size were being put together for the banks. Exceptional monetary and fiscal measures were required to combat the dramatic plunge in the global economy – measures which have had to be kept in place to the current time. Only by a narrow margin was a complete collapse of the financial system avoided and the danger of a major depression averted. This experience has clearly shown us all that the principle of sustainability needs to be a much more dominant element in the development of the international financial system than it was previously.