Conclusion While a significant degree of maturity has been attained in the banking sectors of Eastern Europe, banking and financial sector reform in the vast majority of the region continues to pose considerable challenges for policy makers and practitioners. Stability in the banking sector is not guaranteed anywhere, but the degree of comfort and consistency of banking operations, with reference to the skill and discretion of official intervention in times of turbulence, can be considerably enhanced with considered design and implementation of relevant policies. Banking reform, pension reform and enterprise development are distinct yet intertwined issues, which find commonality in the need to stimulate investment and to establish the instruments and governance that such investment requires. The lessons learned in the more advanced countries in Central Europe are proving to be of great value to their neighbors to the south and east, and their judicious application will go far in helping to realize well-functioning financial and capital markets, and the concomitant growth of a sound middle class, in the coming years. New York - Budapest, January, 2001. <<< Previous