We didn’t get the ratings we deserved, says Zeti

Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz says Bank Negara's efforts to diversify its foreign reserves into instruments from within the Asean region have not been acknowledged. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, March 11, 2016.​Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) was among the first central banks to diversify its foreign reserves into instruments from within the Asean region, but it was an effort that ratings agencies failed to recognise, governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz said today.

"Bank Negara was one of the first central banks to diversify its reserves into instruments from this region because we felt we knew this region although ratings agencies didn't give us the ratings we felt we deserved," she said at the Wharton Global Forum 2016.

She said Bank Negara, through its own monitoring and surveillance, felt that Asean was where it should diversify reserves.

"And this not only reduces our vulnerability to external developments but it will contribute towards achieving more stable conditions in the regional financial markets," she said.

The future of Asean needs to be built on collective action for the advancement of the region, whereas regional cooperation in the areas of surveillance, financial safety nets and crisis management is crucial, she said.

"We don't want to wait for another crisis which we all experienced in 1997/98 where we managed it individually ourselves."

Zeti, who is known for her futuristic policies, said more work was needed for greater financial integration in the region.

"Financial integration in the region has not progressed that significantly. Asean economies however have reached that stage of development whereby greater regional financial integration can unlock growth potential," she said.

Going forward, the push for regional financial integration was something Asean central banks were doing, she added.

"It is to bring more effective intermediation of funds, bringing the excess savings from one country and channelling it to productive investments in another."

The Asean region, with one of the highest savings rates in the world, has immense potential to meet some of the region's requirement for financing, such as for large investment projects or infrastructure development.

Financial integration will facilitate the channelling of funds from the surplus countries towards productive investments in the region, she said.

It will also allow for more efficient risk diversification of assets to include foreign assets within the region, such as Bank Negara's move to diversify its reserves, she said. – Bernama, March 11, 2016.