There have also been notable achievements in the area of talent development with the proliferation of programmes and certifications which have focussed on Islamic finance offered by several major institutions of higher learning, professional entities, training agencies and industry groups around the world. More recently, platforms for greater engagement among practitioners, scholars and regulators have further added to international collaboration in Islamic finance. And finally, the evolution of Islamic finance in this decade has been marked by its international dimension in which it is becoming an increasingly important part of the global financial landscape. The development of Islamic finance in emerging economies also reflects the changing global pattern of financial and economic integration. This is taking place with the strengthening of financial and economic linkages between Asia and the Middle East and the increased activity of Islamic finance beyond the traditional Muslim countries including the more established financial centres. Cross-border transactions are growing as more issuers  BIS Review 64/2010  1  consider Islamic finance as an attractive alternative means for raising capital, whilst investors are also increasingly considering it as a new asset class in their investment universe. This internationalisation and sustained global expansion of Islamic finance has taken place despite the more challenging environment presented by the global financial crisis, demonstrating the resilience of Islamic finance as a stable form of financial intermediation. Global financial regulatory reforms Ladies and gentlemen, Much has been said and written about the causes of the global financial crisis.
The recent period of low inflation may appear surprising from a cyclical perspective given that we have seen positive economic growth over the past four years, supporting a steady and gradual absorption of economic slack. This has raised the question of 1/4  BIS central bankers' speeches  which factors, cyclical or structural, may have played a role in the growth-inflation relationship. A comprehensive analysis by the Eurosystem has concluded that adverse cyclical factors have played a crucial role in explaining low underlying inflation. These notably consisted of dampened economic activity and high unemployment in the aftermath of the sovereign debt crisis, and subsequently subdued foreign demand and low oil prices.2 Yet, these factors are of a temporary nature and should not affect inflation over a medium-term horizon, even though they might impact on the speed of adjustment in inflation. Moreover, given the uncertainty surrounding the measurement of economic slack, the true amount may be larger than estimated, which could slow down the emergence of price pressures. This is particularly visible in the labour market, where wage growth has remained subdued despite strong employment gains. Nonetheless, these factors should wane as the economic expansion continues and unemployment further declines. In fact, wage growth in the euro area has already picked up recently and the labour market is expected to improve further.