Today, the Bank of Korea hosted the third meeting of the Financial Stability Board (FSB) Regional Consultative Group for Asia in Seoul, Korea. The group was established pursuant to the FSB's announcement in November 2010 that it intends to expand and formalise outreach beyond its membership. To this end, six regional consultative groups were established to bring together financial authorities from FSB member and non-member economies to exchange views on vulnerabilities affecting financial systems and on initiatives to promote financial stability.

At their meeting today, members of the FSB Regional Consultative Group for Asia began by reviewing the FSB's policy priorities and work plan. During discussions on issues relating to vulnerabilities and regional stability, members deliberated on the short-term and long-term implications on financial stability and financial infrastructure in Asia following prolonged uncertainty in the resolution of sovereign and financial sector issues in Europe and recent policy developments in the United States. Members discussed developments in the area of macroprudential policy tools and potential challenges associated with their use in Asia.

Another major area of focus during their meeting was the impact of the financial regulatory reforms in Asia. Discussion under this heading focused on the potential unintended consequences arising from their implementation and possible measures to mitigate the negative effects. Policy priorities and challenges with respect to shadow banking in Asia and the FSB-led initiative to take forward the development of a global Legal Entity Identifier for financial markets also received a significant degree of attention.

The FSB Regional Consultative Group for Asia is co-chaired by Governor Choongsoo Kim, Bank of Korea and Governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz, Bank Negara Malaysia. Membership includes financial authorities form Australia, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong SAR, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.