Dutch banker: global financial crisis far from over

Special
Report: Global Financial Crisis

KUALA LUMPUR, May 6 (Xinhua) -- A top European
central banker on Wednesday cautioned against optimism that the global economy
will recover soon, saying the situation is far from true.

The market should not read too much into slight
improvements in some economic indicators when in fact there were still immense
challenges such as access to credit, Nout Wellink, president of the central bank
of the Netherlands, said in his keynote address at the Asia Regional Forum on
Policy and Regulation of Financial Inclusion.

"Challenges in this area (global financial system)
are just as relevant as they were last November, maybe they are even more
relevant nowadays," he said.

Although the crisis may have left the microfinancing
institutions relatively unaffected but they were also experiencing increased
pressure, he said.