As the world economy struggles to recover from the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, we are reminded of the fundamental truth that every financial system depends on trust.

Market participants need to believe that the counterparties they deal with will fulfill their obligations. That trust has been severely damaged as our financial institutions have suffered life-threatening, self- inflicted wounds by purchasing over a trillion dollars of complex mortgage-backed securities, secured by dicey loans and financed on the thinnest of margins with short-term debt.