Ewart S Williams: Financial stability, crisis preparedness and risk
management in the Caribbean
Welcoming remarks by Mr Ewart S Williams, Governor of the Central Bank of Trinidad and
Tobago, at the opening session of the 42nd Annual Monetary Studies Conference of the
Caribbean Centre for Money and Finance (CCMF), Port-of-Spain, 9 November 2010.
* * *
Salutations:
Conference Honoree Professor CY Thomas
Sir Courtney Blackman
Dr. DeLisle Worrell - Governor, Central Bank of Barbados and Chairman of the CCMF
Executive Committee
Dr. Anselm London - Secretary of Finance and Enterprise Development, Tobago House of
Assembly
Senior Management of the Central Bank
Conference participants
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen
It is my pleasure to welcome you to the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago for the
42nd Annual Monetary Studies Conference of the Caribbean Centre for Money and Finance.
Let me take this opportunity to express condolences to my Barbadian colleagues on the
recent passing of their beloved Prime Minister David Thompson, a true Caribbean patriot.
Our sympathies and solidarity are also with our regional neighbours, who have been hard hit
by hurricane "Tomas".
I am really delighted to see so many of you here coming from the region and further afield.
A special welcome to the IMF contingent, (who we now consider friends in the region - how
times have changed).
This conference has become a flagship event in the region's economic conference agenda.
Over the forty-two years it has provided a unique opportunity for researchers from within and
outside the Caribbean to examine economic and financial issues of critical importance to the
region.
Amidst concerns that the University of the West Indies is becoming more national and less
regional; and with the passion for the West Indies cricket team on the wane, the
Annual
Monetary Conference may be one of the few surviving legacies of regional
cooperation and I congratulate the CCMF for its success in keeping this regional institution
alive.
This year's conference finds the Caribbean in somewhat of a quandary. Even as the region
struggles to emerge from the worst international financial crisis in a century, several
neighbouring economies find themselves further buffeted by a range of natural disasters -
the latest being hurricane Tomas.
And while, in principle, these development challenges should be pulling us closer together,
the reality is that the move towards deeper regional integration appears to have lost
momentum. In fact, many of the regional gains of the past several years seem to be under
threat.
As Europe, Asia and more recently Latin America are demonstrating, the economic
challenges of the day require more and even deeper regional cooperation. For us here in the
Caribbean, regional cooperation it may be
may not merely be a desirable policy option,
vital for our very survival.
The theme of this year's conference - Financial Stability, Crisis Preparedness and Risk
Management in the Caribbean - is both appropriate and timely. Just when we thought we
had survived the worst of the international financial crisis, we were blindsided by the collapse
of the Stanford bank and the demise of CL Financial, the largest conglomerate in the
Caribbean. The later crisis has involved not only Trinidad and Tobago (with Clico, British
American and the Clico Investment Bank), but it has also touched Barbados, Guyana and
Suriname (that have Clico subsidiaries) as well as the OECS and the Bahamas, where the
BAICO insurance companies operated.
While the impact is still unfolding, there is no doubt that, when the numbers are in, the crisis
of CL Financial would have had an enormous human and fiscal cost. If there is any positive,
it is that the crisis should finally constitute a long awaited wake-up call; one that we cannot
ignore and one that carries powerful lessons that we need to address immediately.
In passing, I would like to identify three main lessons:

The first is the urgent need for all regional jurisdictions to strengthen national
financial legislation and regulatory practices;

The second imperative is the establishment of a framework to facilitate closer
collaboration among regional regulators in the regulation of cross-border institutions;
and

The third imperative is the establishment of a national crisis management plan which
details how regulatory authorities would react in the event of a systemic financial
crisis.
An examination of the conference agenda indicates that these issues will be fully covered in
the next three days. One couldn't help but notice also the impressive list of presenters and
participants. This should provide for stimulating discussion such that, at the end of this
conference we should be able to benefit from new insights for assuring regional financial
stability.
It is indeed fitting that this year's conference will honor the work of a great Caribbean
economist and intellectual - Professor C.Y. Thomas. Let me congratulate C.Y. for his sterling
contribution to the region, in a career spanning more than four decades. Your early work in
the area of monetary and financial economics has helped shape the minds of generations of
students and policy-makers in the Caribbean and in other parts of the world.
I do look forward to hearing from both yourself and your celebrant, Sir Courtney later this
morning.
Once again, we are delighted to have you here in Port of Spain to participate in the 42nd
Annual Monetary Studies Conference. I sincerely hope that, in addition to your fruitful
conference deliberations, you find some time to enjoy the country. [Please spend freely,
domestic demand is sluggish and we need the money].
Thank you.