This financial crisis, ending a period of search for yield and increased risktaking,

has triggered various policy responses, ranging from more ad-hoc measures initially to more structured and co-ordinated financial sector rescue actions as the crisis evolved.

Lessons drawn so far should help to devise longer-term, more encompassing and more consistent policies. Various reforms are being proposed by the financial industry as well as by official authorities and international standard-setting bodies, many of which arrive at similar conclusions regarding the causes of and remedies for the crisis.

Shortcomings in risk management, including compensation schemes, governance structures, liquidity and counterparty risk, need to be addressed.