ABSTRACT
The world debt crisis has made it particularly important to achieve technological progress in prudential regulations. The basic measure of capital adequacy should be related to asset risk instead of deposits. Risk concentration should be avoided and standards of profitability raised. Commercial banks were subject to general austerity measures in the form of ceilings on bank personnel and non-interest expenditures. Commercial banks, development banks, brokerage houses and insurance companies have been experiencing financial stress—but so far the Mexican financial system has weathered the storms. The Mexican system differs from many others in that all commercial and development banks, as well as some major insurance companies, are owned by the government while the major private sector financial institutions are the brokerage houses. The quality of bank credit and assets generally has been sustained because a large share of commercial bank lending has taken the form of government paper.
