15 Assets that would qualify as sufficiently liquid should be easily sold in the market – also in stress situations. The financial crisis showed that many assets held by banks for liquidity purposes were not particularly liquid. In the UK, the authorities will only accept that banks’ liquidity buffers include government bonds of high quality and deposits in the central bank. Norges Bank’s macroprudential supervision – use of stress tests Through recent decades, financial stability analyses have become increasingly important in many central banks. An important element in the analysis is to assess the vulnerability of the financial system to macroeconomic disturbances. Stress tests are commonly used in this exercise. Norges Bank uses stress tests to assess the consequences for Norwegian banks of several risks having a negative impact simultaneously. We will develop this tool further and take account of the experiences of other countries. We will seek to be transparent about the assumptions and results. Asset prices, credit and monetary policy There is a division of roles in economic policy. Fiscal policy, through growth in public spending, influences the real krone exchange rate and the size of the international exposed business sector in the long term. Monetary policy steers inflation in the medium and long term and can in addition contribute to smoothing fluctuations in output and employment. 13  See European Central Bank, December (2008): “Covered Bonds in the EU Financial System”. 14  Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (2009): “Comprehensive Response to the Global Banking Crisis”, press release of 7 September.
Zeti Akhtar Aziz: Bank Negara Malaysia LINK Speech by Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, Governor of the Central Bank of Malaysia, at the launch of Bank Negara Malaysia LINK, Kuala Lumpur, 25 February 2005. *  *  *  Yang Amat Berhormat Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Perdana Menteri Malaysia dan Menteri Kewangan Malaysia, Tetamu-tetamu Kehormat, Tuan-tuan dan Puan-puan, The Central Bank engaging with the public is what Bank Negara Malaysia LINK is about. It is my great pleasure and honour to welcome you to the official launch of the Bank Negara Malaysia Laman Informasi Nasihat dan Khidmat or the Bank Negara Malaysia LINK. The Bank Negara Malaysia LINK aims to enhance the effectiveness of Bank Negara Malaysia's interface with the public. Bank Negara Malaysia LINK is established as a centralised point of contact with the public on issues that relate to our operations, our policies, the financial sector and consumer education in the area of finance. We believe this continuous engagement with the public will not only enhance awareness, understanding and appreciation of the issues at hand but also contribute to facilitating the efficient functioning of the financial system and ensure the effectiveness of policy. Bank Negara Malaysia LINK will also centralise all interface with the SMEs on issues that relate to matters on access to financing and thereby contribute towards enhancing their value added to the economy.