##s and the united states has been on an extremely gradual path of raising rates as its economy has improved. in tandem, interest rates in trinidad and tobago have slipped over the years — 3 - month treasury bill rates averaged 0. 97 per cent in 2015 compared to 10. 78 per cent in 2000! taking into account, among other things, the path of us rates, the central bank raised the domestic repo rate from 3. 25 to 4. 75 per cent over the course of 2015 with a subsequent pause in 2016 to date. moving forward, we can anticipate that the trajectory of external rates would have a bearing on domestic monetary policy actions. concerning the wider subjects of exchange rate expectations and risk perception, a crucial factor will not only be how monetary policy is conducted but also the comprehensiveness and consistency of the overall macroeconomic adjustment program. as noted earlier the terms of trade shock is large ; moreover, an announced fiscal adjustment program is in train within the context of a recently unveiled central government budget. success in coordinating adjustments on the most immediately implementation of the united states foreign account tax compliance act ( fatca ) conditions and the financial action task force ( fatf ) requirements in the sphere of money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism. aspects of trinidad and tobago ’ s global economic interactions fiscal, structural and monetary fronts would be vital in smoothing the way to an economy less reliant on energy exports. 9. the fourth issue relates to how trinidad and tobago fits into the current global economic outlook, particularly for emerging market economies. the latest imf ’ s world economic outlook published in october 2016 is sobering. the organization ’ s chief economist summarized it neatly ( if not cheerfully ) by saying that “ the world economy is moving sideways ”. a number of key factors that are relevant to trinidad and tobago were cited as coloring the prognosis, including the response to brexit and the implications for trade and institutional relations between the united kingdom and europe ; china ’ s short term economic prospects ; some firming of non - energy commodity prices ; the risk of subdued growth leading to anti - integration policies gaining more traction in the advanced economies ; and the daunting policy challenges faced by emerging market and developing economies in adjusting to weaker commodity prices. the fund estimated that the probability of a recession in the short run in latin america was around one in three and in the rest of the world ( excluding the us, europe, japan and emerging asia ) was about 50 : 50. a

the current innovation revolution offers an opportunity for curacao to again take the pioneering lead in shaping the future of regional and global financial services provision. i cannot stress enough the importance of our need to become adaptable and agile to keep our markets efficient, fair, and attractive in an ever - evolving and innovative environment. today i want to touch upon the role of the central bank in promoting our jurisdictional readiness and embracing the new reality. the central bank is responsible for the supervision of the financial sector of curacao and sint maarten, and is not exempted of the responsibility of ensuring integrity, continuity, and resilience of our markets. in our aim to preserve and foster the reputation of curacao as a sound, transparent, and reputable financial center, whilst taking advantage of the changing landscape, we worked to achieve institutional agility and adaptability needed to usher our financial sector into this new era. while we believe that there is no substitute for good regulation, we are also aware that overregulation will impair the ability of our jurisdiction to maintain a competitive position as an international financial center. therefore, a proper balance must be reached between the adequacy and effectiveness of rules and regulations, and the underlying risks that our financial sector is exposed to. our efforts are directed towards complying with the international standards, but keenly taking advantage of the now presenting opportunities. we have successfully and positively been assessed by the major standard - setting bodies over the past years such as the oecd, the imf, the world bank, and the ( c ) fatf, and subsequently, implemented their recommendations. although complying with international standards and principles is a major achievement, we now need to turn our attention to capitalize on our enhanced transparency as a jurisdiction. the collusion of our transition to a new fiscal framework with the current innovation developments is just what we need as a jurisdiction. although the central bank is not a regulator for technology driven institutions, innovation is rapidly affecting and changing our regulatory landscape as well. financial technology or fintech is now driving the financial business narrative in a way that regulators are now scrambling to determine how to regulate highly technological institutions and technology driven products. the central bank has recently installed an innovation committee to explore the possibility to present curacao as the natural alternative for innovation - driven business. regulatory innovation is not only a theoretical concept, but rather a necessity that the central bank is determined to explore. curacao has all the