“Governors recognized the potential impact that the current monetary, financial and fiscal measures had on long-term macroeconomic stability,” the statement said. The bank leaders stressed “the importance of exit strategies for the measures being implemented as stability is restored,” according to the statement.

While Asian financial systems largely escaped a credit crunch that toppled banks in the US and Europe, growth is slowing as demand for exports shrinks. Developing economies in Asia will probably expand 5.5 percent this year, the slowest since 1998, the International Monetary Fund said last month.

Central banks from South Korea to Malaysia have cut rates to spur demand, while governments have pledged more than US$685 billion in spending over five years. Authorities in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines are among those that have lowered borrowing costs in recent weeks.

“The issue of reconciling short-term policy actions to mitigate economic downturns with the need for adjustments towards longer-term sustainability was discussed,” the governors’ statement said.

Central bank governors from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei Darussalam, Vietnam, the Philippines, Cambodia, Myanmar, South Korea, Mongolia, Fiji, Nepal, Papua New Guinea and Sri Lanka are in the group.

Source: Bloomberg