regarding leave of absence or the establishment or extension of periods of leave). Lastly, financial independence means that an independent institution has sufficient financial resources to equip itself with material and human resources for the pursuit of its mission. In this respect, the Banco de España has sufficient financial capacity as a result of the revenue sources legally and statutorily assigned to it, and it is able to draw on such revenue to cover its functioning costs. The difference between each year’s revenue and costs is made over to the Public Treasury, bolstering State revenues. Accordingly, the Banco de España uses the resources available to it observing the principles of efficiency and effectiveness that should govern the use of all public funds. I believe the Banco de España’s legal framework and experience as a financially and organisationally independent institution can be a good benchmark for any future redesign of other economic supervisors in Spain which, in some cases, enjoy less autonomy. 4  Article 24 of the Law of Autonomy provides that the Governor of the Banco de España shall be appointed by the King following a proposal by the Prime Minister. Nominees must be Spanish and must have recognised competence in monetary or banking matters. Prior to the appointment of the Governor, the Minister for Economy and Finance shall appear before the relevant parliamentary committee under the terms envisaged in Article 203 of the Spanish Parliamentary Internal Regulations, to report on the proposed candidate.
In addition, Malaysia’s economic flexibility has allowed us to shift resources from industries in which we no longer have comparative advantage to new areas of growth. It is these factors that will continue to underpin the positive growth outlook of the Malaysian economy into the near to medium term. Key Imperatives to prepare for the new global landscape The changing global landscape presents significant new challenges for both the developed and emerging economies. Important is to be well-positioned to manage the new risks and to build the necessary capability and capacity to have the agility and flexibility to adjust to the rapidly changing conditions. As the emerging economies aspire towards achieving higher levels of income and living standards, a different path from that which led the way for the advanced economies will now need to be considered. The current global financial crisis and the Asian financial crisis have provided us with many important lessons that should form the underpinnings for our business models and our policies for growth and development. A key priority of policy should be to balance the need of ensuring sustained stability while having in place the necessary foundations to secure long-term development. Avoiding and preventing the build-up of excesses is a critical imperative. The recent crisis has forcefully shown that markets cannot be exclusively relied on to rein in excesses. Market discipline needs to be complemented by policy interventions to effectively manage the build-up of imbalances in the financial sector and in the economy.