Or would it be better to take the more direct, but less nuanced approach advocated by some and simply break up the most systemically important firms into smaller or simpler pieces in the hope that what emerges is no longer systemic and too big to fail?1 As I will explain tonight, I believe we should continue to press forward on the first path. But, if we fail to reach our destination by this route, then a blunter approach may yet prove necessary. As always, my views may not necessarily reflect those of the Federal Reserve System. What is the too-big-to-fail problem? The root cause of “too big to fail” is the fact that in our financial system as it exists today, the failure of large complex financial firms generate large, undesirable externalities. These include disruption of the stability of the financial system and its ability to provide credit and other essential financial services to households and businesses. When this happens, not only is the financial sector disrupted, but its troubles cascade over into the real economy. There are negative externalities associated with the failure of any financial firm, but these are disproportionately high in the case of large, complex and interconnected firms. Although the moniker is “too big to fail”, the magnitude of these externalities does not depend simply on size. The size of the externalities also depends on the particular mix of business activities and the degree of interconnectedness with the rest of the financial industry.
Asia remains the fastest growing and most dynamic region in the world today and is likely to remain so in the foreseeable future. According to projections by The Conference Board, China’s growth in the next ten years will average close to 5% per annum, with India at about 4.2% and the rest of Asia at 4.5%. 1 These projected growth rates for Asia are well above the 3.8% for emerging economies as a whole, and the 1.7% expected for the advanced economies over the same period. Looking further into the future, the Asian Development Bank has projected that the sum of the GDP of China, India and ASEAN in purchasing power parity terms could quadruple by 2030 and even exceed that of the US and Europe combined. 2 5. Asia’s already large middle class, will continue to register strong growth. In ASEAN for instance, the middle class is projected to rise to two-thirds of the population by 2030, from less than a quarter in 2010. 3 The rapid expansion of the middle class will, from the demand side, spur the growth and development of a wide range of goods and services. 6. Alongside Asia’s sustained economic development in the medium-term, financial services will be an important facilitator of growth as well as a growth engine in its own right. 1  “New measures for global growth projections for The Conference Board Global Economic Outlook 2014,” The Conference Board, November 2013. 2  “ASEAN, PRC and India: The Great Transformation,” ADB Institute, Asian Development Bank, 2014.