Norman T L Chan: Symposium on Financial Stability – opening remarks Opening remarks by Mr Norman T L Chan, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, at the HKMA Financial Stability Symposium, Hong Kong, 30 May 2013. *  *  *  Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen, 1. Welcome to the HKMA Financial Stability Symposium. The Symposium marks the 20th Anniversary of the HKMA, which is a very young central banking institution comparing with its peers. It is very timely and appropriate for the HKMA to convene this Symposium on Financial Stability because Hong Kong, like many of our Asian neighbours, have learnt from our own bitter experience in the few years after 1997 just how painful and devastating financial crisis can become. So it is clearly our common wish to do what we can to reduce the risks of financial crisis recurring or at least mitigate the damage that it can cause to the financial system and the economy when it occurs. 2. In this connection, it may perhaps be useful to look back and observe how the mainstream thinking on financial stability have changed or evolved since the time when the HKMA was set up in 1993. I would list a couple of key issues below: (i)  there was the belief that financial crises would only occur in the developing economies because they had weak financial institutions and poor regulatory regimes. Advanced economies would be immune as they had mature financial institutions and robust regulatory systems.
With a clear view of the important role that insurers have in serving and supporting the economy, there is every potential for this to be realised. 4  BIS central bankers’ speeches