The currency board arrangements are not just another monetary policy regime. They are a “frame of mind”, a way to view and tackle the economic, political and social processes. Some Western analysts and researchers fail to understand this. But I am sure the contributions by my colleagues from the BNB will clearly illustrate during this conference that the currency board is something more than just a monetary policy regime. Following a dramatic banking and financial crisis in 1996–1997, the economy was stabilised by the introduction of the currency board arrangements, in combination with the strong fiscal  BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  discipline, the liberalisation and privatisation of the Bulgarian economy, and the use of a broad range of macroprudential instruments. The current global crisis is not the first one successfully weathered by the Bulgarian economy. In only two decades we have endured the Asian crisis, the Russian Crisis, the “dotcom bubble” burst, the U.S. subprime crisis and the failure of Lehman Brothers, before the euro area financial and sovereign debt crisis came in. But the recent crisis has served as perhaps the biggest “litmus test” for the optimality of our monetary policy regime. We believe that a small open economy, which is not rich in certain commodities or natural resources, cannot succeed in pursuing the so-called independent monetary policy. All these issues will be elaborated today by deputy governor Hristov who will share our experience with you during the afternoon session of this conference.
It is also about looking forward and staying the course for the medium- to long-term. As institutional investors pivot towards alternative assets, Asian private equity, Asian real estate, and Asian infrastructure can provide credible stores of value in the institutional portfolio. And Singapore’s financial centre – with more than 120 global and regional banks, a diverse ecosystem of over 650 asset managers, and extensive connectivity with the rest of Asia – offers an excellent platform to tap into these opportunities. Thank you, and have a good evening. 1 The IMF forecasts refer to the ASEAN-5 economies of Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and the  Philippines. 6/6  BIS central bankers' speeches