However, two members of the Executive Board remained responsible for tabling proposals for decision in issues of monetary policy and financial stability. This was also changed later, so that these two were no longer responsible for tabling proposals for decision, but only acted as spokespersons. When Irma Rosenberg left, the role of spokesperson for monetary policy disappeared, and when Lars Nyberg leaves at the end of this year, the role of spokesperson for financial stability will also probably disappear. The Executive Board has also decided to assign the Governor to assume managerial responsibility for the Heads of Department and to monitor the Riksbank’s activities within the scope of the fixed budget and operational plan. However, this will not solve the problem of the Governor not being head of the Riksbank in the same way as a Director General is head of an authority. The Riksdag Committee on Finance has stated its intention to review the Sveriges Riksbank Act once other issues it has been assigned by the government to investigate have been cleared up. My suggestion is that the role of the Governor of the Riksbank also be reviewed and strengthened at the same time. There are many ways in which this could be done, and different countries have taken different approaches. One possibility that I think might work well would be to have a Governor who is head of the authority and two Deputy Governors who, under the Governor, each take responsibility for their part of operations.
In the region as a whole, the US plays a vital, constructive role, moderating tensions and keeping potential flash points from boiling over. “Can Asia make it?” A year ago, many analysts and investors would have said no. The Asian miracle appeared to have been an illusion, built on flimsy foundations. Today, in light of the rapid economic rebound, the rank of the sceptics is thinning rapidly. My own view has been an unequivocal “yes”. Asia will recover its former dynamism. Not automatically, and not all at once; but as countries rebuild and put things right, recovery will come. The fundamentals which supported two decades of high growth in Asia have not disappeared – a sturdy work ethic and high savings rates, skilled and disciplined workforces, and an entrepreneurial culture. In time, these strengths will enable the countries to grow and progress again. The recovery will create new investment opportunities. Asian governments have recognised the need for foreign equity, and relaxed restrictions on foreign investments. Prices are down, and fundamentally  BIS Review 117/1999  4  sound companies facing difficulties are looking for strategic alliances. Investors should keep their eyes open, invest discriminately, and ride on the region as it picks up. At the height of the crisis, I asked one European banker what his bank would do. He said that the bank had been in Asia for over a century. It had seen far worse upheavals. It would take the latest problems in its stride, and wait the storm out.