eastern caribbean central bank opening remarks by timothy n. j. antoine governor, eastern caribbean central bank single insurance and pension market project ( sipmp ) change management strategy meeting 2 july 2018 ( eccb headquarters ) salutations : this meeting has been in the making for some time and i am pleased that we are all finally here. i apologise for my physical absence, but i am nonetheless happy to join you by phone for, at least, part of today ’ s proceedings. colleagues, two weekends ago i was in basel, switzerland for the annual meetings of the bank for international settlements. those meetings, as some of you are aware, bring together regulators from all over the world and the following standard setting bodies : financial stability board, basel committee on bank supervision, committee on payments and market infrastructure, international organisation for securities commissions, international association of insurance supervisors ( iais ) and the international association of deposit insurers. though acknowledging noteworthy progress, the meetings focused on the need to complete, the post global financial crisis reform agenda. in short, there is still some unfinished business – not just to minimise the risks of certain recurrences but also to prepare for the next crisis. those of us who have toiled in the vineyard of financial sector regulation know only too well, that like hurricanes, crises will occur from time to time. but we must do our utmost to minimise those risks and we must build resilience. we must be prepared. johnathan dixon, secretary general of the international association for insurance supervisors indicated that the current priorities of the iais included : developing a common framework for groups, developing a framework for the migration of systemic risk, and fintech and cyber - resilience. page 1 of 3 eastern caribbean central bank regarding the latter, i commend your attention to the iais report on fintech developments in insurance that was published last year ( 2017 ). against this backdrop and from my vantage point, my key messages to you, this morning, are as follows : 1. we too have unfinished business in the eccu. following the debacle of baico and clico, the monetary council determined that we should proceed to establish a single regulator for insurance, pension funds and, ultimately, for credit unions to be called the eastern caribbean financial services commission. to that end, we would also need a uniform insurance law. colleagues, the stark reality is that almost 10 years after the global financial crisis and the ensuing baico /

has always been what the political traffic could bear after the demise of the ill - fated west indian federation. lloyd best at the 30th monetary studies conference in the bahamas, in a truly outstanding tribute to alister mcintyre remarked on the fact that the “ independence movement within the single territories of the caricom community, has not had the local machinery for exploiting or converting opportunities for development and transformation at home. ” he also stated that the integration movement had been hopelessly short on implementation. the movement lacked the required instruments ; a view he claimed was shared by the west indian commission in 1992. i now quote fully from lloyd best, in one of his most controversial assertions in a style, which is uniquely lloyd ’ s. “ if, in 1992, the west indies commission felt bound to declare time for action, what was the reason? was it not that the trade unions and the labour congresses had gone off the stage fifty years before? wasn ’ t it that organized units had effectively disappeared, almost blocking all political trade ( as distinct from industrial relations bargaining ) above all, when it involved transactions across the borders of newly independent states with insanely jealous leaders ”. lloyd went on - “ within the islands and territories, this gap was difficult to fill without breeding consistent new conflict. in many places, industrial stabilization became a surrogate for slowing or even stopping the development of new community forces with political potential. however, at the regional level, certain accidents of federation did make it possible to envisage the emergence of an effective network of active as well as passive participants of caribbean integration, exchanging ideas as well as promoting concrete measures. let us call this the west indian party. i am sure that today it is very well represented here. ” finally, in paying tribute to mcintyre and demas, lloyd delivered this very stirring oration. “ over the years, mcintyre and demas have consistently and without fail, provided this party with inspiration and leadership, policy, programme and plan. they have worked selflessly. they have worked tirelessly, whether out of the multilateral institutions operating in the region, including the uwi and the wider system of higher education, the caricom secretariat and regional agencies, the cdb and the un system. mcintyre and demas have had no other business - not academic life, not administration, not the university, not the regional development bank. the pair has had one transcendental concern, which has not been economics, which they have practiced expertly, when