The currency and financial crises that broke in Asia in mid-1997 have provoked widespread re-evaluation of several orthodoxies in national and international finance. The severity and spread of the crises brought into the mainstream previously obscure and marginal debates, effectively undermining the 'Washington consensus' that had prevailed over the preceding decade. Some indication of the change in sentiment can be found in the report carried by a leading banking industry periodical, which featured comments by prominent economists on the dangers of unfettered financial markets.

While debates on the currency crisis reveal more areas of disagreement than agreement, there seems to be one issue on which most are agreed: the need for more (or better) financial governance. The concept, however, is remarkably elastic and, in many formulations, approaches the tautological. This study aims to critically consider financial capacity and governance in the financial systems of the major Southeast Asian countries.