banks does not deal with the issue of removing excess banking capacity nor does it discourage the repetition of similar mistakes. second, what process should be used to determine which banks need to be closed, or merged, and which can continue to operate on a recapitalized basis, probably with new owners and managers? third, how much support should the government provide, through guarantees for example, to purchasers of nonperforming loans? our experience in the united states indicates [UNK] that the scale of such support, however structured, must be commensurate to the problem. finally, and by no means least important, we must consider how official assistance can be structured, if at all, to minimize moral hazard. do we understand how to achieve burden sharing with the private sector? a critical point, though, is to act decisively to restore market mechanisms and place nonperforming assets in the hands of those capable of putting them to greatest use. allowing a serious problem to languish can be a great and costly mistake. conclusion in conclusion, we know that the banking industry plays and will continue to play an important role in the global market place. unfortunately, a combination of poor banking practice, weak supervision and a number of macroeconomic shocks can destabilize a banking system. the solutions might include bank supervision at the best international levels, greater transparency, and, perhaps, some interference with capital flows. when a banking system becomes insolvent, however, there is no substitute for stripping away the bad assets in order to allow banks to once again perform their special role in society. who bears the costs and how to ensure market discipline may be the most important issues to be addressed in that solution. unfortunately, given changes in technology and global economic forces, i am sure that we will not stop discussing the issue of banking crises. i appreciate the chance to share these thoughts with you this evening. [UNK]

counted counts. in the years that followed, the investment climate deteriorated quickly and the much - needed investment dried up. the political headwinds that ensued after 10 – 10 – 10 and the fiscal restraint required by the kingdom government to bring our financial household in order masked the developments i outlined above. the government has focused primarily on meeting the conditions stipulated in the kingdom financial supervision act. we have spent most of our energy on achieving and maintaining fiscal sustainability, while neglecting strategies to stimulate economic growth. even though bis central bankers ’ speeches lengthy discussions have been ongoing about strengthening the economic pillars of curacao, including ship repair and international financial services, and developing new economic sectors, it is again only the tourism sector that has made significant progress. as i have mentioned on earlier occasions, people often believe that stimulating economic growth and the development and strengthening of specific economic pillars is the responsibility of the government alone. however, developments in our tourism and financial sectors have driven home the point that private sector - led initiatives are crucial to achieve the desired development and growth of an industry. meanwhile, the role of the public sector is to create the right investment climate and regulatory framework for businesses to operate, grow, and invest. this collaborative approach is the best recipe for creating sustainable economic growth and progress. in the case of our tourism sector, thanks to these joint efforts, curacao has been able to benefit from increased airlift, which for many years was considered one of the main obstacles to further growth. increased airlift, however, must go hand in hand with increased hotel accommodations. otherwise, we will face the problem of having tourists willing to come to the island, airlift to bring them, but no place to accommodate them. curacao needs to be able to offer a high standard of hotels and luxury villas to cater to the high - end market. right now, some existing hotels need upgrading, and numerous projects have been announced in recent years but construction activities have yet to start. ladies and gentlemen, if we want to achieve a higher growth path for tourism, we need to invest more in the industry. today ’ s investment is tomorrow ’ s growth. investments are needed to upgrade and expand our hotel capacity and other accommodations. however, a major impediment remains vis - a - vis the availability of risk capital to finance large investment projects in this industry. shortage of risk capital is a major obstacle for tourism development in many countries, and curacao is no exception. the main reason for the shortage of