Deutsche Bank's Josef Ackermann at the IMF in Korea

The following is an excerpt of a keynote address entitled The new financial system and the role of Asia given by Josef Ackermann, Deutsche Bank's chairman of the management board and group executive committee, at the IMF conference in Daejeon, Korea on Monday. 

I believe the geopolitical consequences of the financial crisis have been underrated and widely neglected so far. Let's face it The reputation of the Western world has been severely damaged by the financial crisis that originated in the US, which was thought to have the most sophisticated financial system in the world.

In contrast, Asia emerged relatively unscathed from this crisis if only for the reason...