In 1990, the Bank announced a monetary program for the first time, which aimed to meet the liquidity requirement of the market without endangering the stability of exchange rates and interest rates. The targets announced in 1990 were achieved; yet, problems such as the pressure of the Gulf War on the financial sector, political instability, lax financial policy and the fragile structure of the banking sector hindered achievement of macroeconomic stability and led to a financial crisis in the first quarter of 1994.