I have tried to give you a flavour of the synergies that I believe exist in debt workouts affecting, first, companies, then financial institutions and finally sovereign countries. But I hope I have also not underestimated the difficulties in realising those synergies, especially as the number and type of players involved in workouts has increased. Significant progress towards a global approach to corporate workouts has been made, however, thanks to the efforts of many of you. I am convinced that this has laid the foundations for further moves towards more effective frameworks governing bank and, especially, sovereign debt workouts. Thank you. BIS Review 67/2001  7
The challenge of managing risks in the financial sector is made greater by the tremendous spirit of innovation that fuels growth and healthy competition among banks and other firms. Bankers have long competed on their abilities to tailor products and services to each client’s unique needs. New opportunities for profit often change the nature of the known risks a bank may face - they may also expose an institution to unknown pitfalls. As a former commercial banker, I know that responsibility for understanding and managing risks and potential pitfalls rests with senior management and its board of directors. As a supervisor, I believe that we should create incentives to help motivate responsible behavior within firms. Further, as Chairman of the Basel Committee, I see the work of the Committee as helping to foster safe and sound banking systems by creating incentives for banks to improve their understanding and management of risk, and, in turn, to contribute to greater stability within the financial sector. Encouraging the improvement of risk management in banks, is, indeed, the overarching goal of the Committee's efforts to revise the Basel Capital Accord. In my remarks today, I’d like to focus on the challenges associated with implementation of the new framework now that the revision process is coming to an end. First, I'll spend a few moments discussing the evolution and structure of the New Accord.