Crisis Triggered Historic Financial Sector Changes—Banker

Crisis accelerated global shift in economic, financial power to Asia

Financial centers, growing size of banks reflect rise of emerging markets

Warnings against overregulation of financial markets

Delivering a keynote address at a major Asian conference organized by the IMF and the Korean government in the Korean city of Daejeon, the Chairman of Deutsche Bank told an audience of top government officials, central bankers, and executives from the world of finance that events following the crisis reflected the continued rise in Asian influence and financial prowess.

"The financial crisis also reinforced the relative economic decline of the West. Not only has the recession in the United States and wide parts of Europe been deeper and the recovery less vigorous than in many emerging markets—in particular in Asia; the crisis has also caused the further expansion in the fiscal burdens which the West has to bear," he said.

Emerging markets’ greater role

Ackermann said the growing importance of Asia was reflected in seismic shifts within the financial sector, with growing numbers of financial centers located in emerging markets.

"Even before the crisis, places like Sao Paulo, Singapore, Shanghai, and Seoul had started to catch up to incumbents. The financial crisis helped them to post some gains in market share," Ackermann stated, pointing out that some of the world’s largest banks—based on market capitalization—were now those domiciled in emerging markets such as China.

"Today, four of the world’s 10 biggest banks by market value are Chinese—in 2004, none was," he said, describing the changes as "truly stunning."

The financial crisis that originated in the U.S. subprime mortgage market in 2007 later turned into a full-blown economic crisis that engulfed the world. It...