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THE WHITE HOUSE

Offfice of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release April 29, 1999

STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

As part of our ongoing efforts to increase opportunities and reduce risks in the global economy, we have focused on ways to strengthen the world's financial system. Today, I welcome the Working Group on Financial Markets' report entitled "Hedge Funds, Leverage, and the Lessons of Long-Term Capital Management."

The report contains a number of policy recommendations that are designed to reduce the potential risks of excessive leverage, as demonstrated by the near-collapse of Long-Term Capital Management. By enhancing transparency in the financial system, by increasing the amount of information made available to the public and by improving risk management on the part of financial institutions, we can help reduce these risks. Taken together, the report's recommendations are an important step in our efforts to promote more secure financial markets.

This report is the result of a collective effort by all of the federal financial regulatory agencies. I want to commend the Working Group for this thoughtful report. I look forward to working with Congress on these important issues.

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