In such circumstances, we expect the board to provide leadership, guidance and oversight in ensuring that the needs and rights of all parties are adequately and appropriately managed. Thirdly, the implementation of global regulatory reforms will pose further challenges for the industry. While the reforms are well-intended, the complexity and impact of the reforms to business should not be underestimated. Increasingly, there seems to be a trend on the “extraterritorial” application of laws and regulatory requirements, which have implications on other jurisdictions. The extraterritorial effect of such laws may require changes to existing practices and may involve substantial costs in terms of system change and improving monitoring capabilities. At the board and senior management levels, an adequate understanding of the potential impact of these trends and regulatory changes is critical to help the organisation in setting business priorities while ensuring full compliance with emerging regulatory requirements. With much at stake, board members must take seriously their responsibility to drive the corporate governance agenda forward. One important lesson we ought to learn is that weak governance causes the failure of financial institutions. The costs of salvaging a failed institution far outweigh the costs incurred to prevent such a failure. Over the long term, the failure of institutions would also cause businesses and households that depend on financial institutions for funding to be in a difficult position, erode public trust that would take many years to restore and consequently result in more intrusive and prescriptive regulation of the industry.
Urban Bäckström: The business cycle and interest rate policy Speech by Speech by Mr Urban Bäckström, Governor of the Sveriges Riksbank and Chairman of the Board of Directors and President of the Bank for International Settlements,.at the Euroforum’s Conference, Örebro, 10 October 2001. *  *  *  First a word of thanks for the invitation to discuss matters to do with the business cycle and interest rate policy here with you in Örebro. We are living at present in turbulent times. Political events on the world stage have considerable economic and other repercussions in Sweden. Today I shall be saying something about my view of the business cycle’s current phase and also try in some measure to look into the future. Weaker activity in the rest of the world Global economic growth slackened appreciably in the first half of this year. The downward phase has lasted longer and become deeper than many observers had counted on at the beginning of the year. For the first time in over a decade we are experiencing a synchronous slowdown in all the leading economies. The terrorist attacks on 11 September have accentuated the risk of the downward phase being more pronounced and protracted. At the same time it should be underscored that the attacks can hardly be expected to disrupt the conditions for growth in the longer run, either in the industrialised countries or in what are commonly referred to as the emerging markets.