In that regard, there is now reasonable global consensus that the origin of the turmoil could be traced to excessive risk taking due to pure and simple greed; recklessness driven by intense, unadulterated greed; leading to the creation of massive “bubbles” in many developed economies, that were not supported by a robust, representative real asset base. No doubt, such risk taking had often been fuelled by lax and short-sighted regulation. To make matters worse, many rating agencies too, tacitly and indirectly, encouraged the excessive risk taking by assigning top ratings to toxic financial instruments, thereby helping to blow up the bubble even bigger. The bubble creating drivers had also been strongly supported by the global ability to transact business at unbelievable speeds and in mind-boggling volumes. This capacity provided the scope to move capital, wealth and resources across borders instantaneously, almost without restrictions or regulatory oversight, at the press of a button. But whatever may have been the drivers, the end result was that this greed and its ill-effects created and nurtured massive “bubbles” in many developed economies; and the subsequent puncturing of these massive bubbles has now revealed just how hollow and empty the financial structures that we relied upon, had been. However, even at that stage, the usually conservative multi-lateral “watchdogs”, rating agencies and experienced academics could not realize, let alone predict, that the world’s financial system was fast reaching breaking point!
I would also like to thank the Co-lead Managers, DZ BANK AG, Hong Kong Branch, ICBC (Asia) and BMO Capital Markets Corp and Co-Managers, ANZ Investment Bank and Commonwealth Bank of Australia, for managing and distributing the issue. I look forward to your continuing support of our Corporation and its debt issuance activities. Thank you. 2  BIS Review 116/2006