The Financial Stability Forum (FSF) will hold its fifteenth plenary meeting on 17 March 2006 in Sydney, immediately after the fourth Asia-Pacific regional meeting the day before.

A release from the FSF indicates that the Asia-Pacific regional meeting will review potential vulnerabilities in the regional financial systems, while the plenary meeting will assess potential vulnerabilities in the international financial system. The agenda also includes developments in the hedge fund sector, overall financial sector resilience, and the possible implications of an influenza pandemic for financial systems.

In addition, the FSF will review follow-up work on issues of previous interest, including international accounting and auditing matters, international standard setting processes, and off-shore financial centres.

The FSF has committed to a process for promoting continued improvements within OFCs, with elements including:

• Actions by standard setting bodies
• Assessment by the IMF
• Initiatives by national authorities
• Provision of technical assistance

The Forum brings together national authorities responsible for financial stability in significant
international financial centres, international financial institutions, sector-specific international
groupings of regulators and supervisors, and committees of central bank experts. It promotes international financial stability through enhanced information exchange and international cooperation in financial market supervision and surveillance. The FSF Secretariat is based at the Bank for International Settlements in Basel, Switzerland.