The banking industry proved more enthusiastic about Buenaventura's appointment as BSP governor than Buenaventura himself expected. It had good reason: Buenaventura was taking over the position at a time when the industry was in deep trouble, having accumulated a gargantuan portfolio of bad loans that, in the face of the Asian financial crisis, threatened to collapse the entire financial system. Moreover, the industry was on the threshold of increasing globalization, and required radical shifts in regulatory policies in order to comply with global standards.