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Bankers and analysts who met in San Francisco recently say that 10 years after the Asian financial crisis, a resurgent Asia has reemerged as an economic power. They say the key to stable growth in Asia's emerging markets is a resilient financial system.

Regulators, economists and bankers shared lessons from the past and cautions for the future as they looked back on the Asian crisis.

The problems started when the Thai currency collapsed in July, 1997. Panicked investors withdrew their funds and the rapid outflow sent tremors throughout Asia.

For all but astute investors, the frightening chain of events was unexpected. Thailand, Indonesia and South Korea were most affected by the crisis. The International Monetary Fund imposed sweeping requirements for financial reform in exchange for help. The measures included closing troubled banks, abandoning fixed exchange rates and restructuring corporations.

Linda Yang was U.S. ambassador to the Asian Development Bank. She says the reforms were difficult, and the poor bore much of the burden. The international officials could have tailored their responses more effectively and humanely, but serious reform was needed.

There are still strains and risks in the Asian economies, says Dominic Barton from McKinsey & Company. He says that coming years will see 800 million new middle-class consumers in India and China, and that borrowers and lenders will need financial education to cope with the surge in spending and lending.

Many experts caution that economic disruptions, caused by Asian flu, political upheavals or a surge in oil prices, could cause another Asian downturn. So could problems in the U.S. economy, whose consumers fuel much of Asia's expansion.