cleviston haynes : finding opportunities in covid - 19 remarks by mr cleviston haynes, governor of the central bank of barbados, at the rotary club of barbados south luncheon meeting, christ church, 3 september 2020. * * * good day. i am honoured to have the opportunity to address you today. as an honorary member of this club, i have witnessed and come to appreciate the commitment and the sacrifices that you exhibit by giving back to a society that has given us so much. we are in the midst of a global pandemic that has disrupted our usual way of doing business. however, we have effected an orderly transfer of executive offices along the way. that transfer we recognise and celebrate today. mr. president, let me congratulate you and your team, and wish you much success in your stint as leaders of this club. you could not have offered to serve and to lead this club at a more demanding time, but i am confident that at the end of your term you and our club will have made a significant contribution to the well - being of our fellow citizens. let me also congratulate sonya alleyne. your pending elevation to the role of district governor is indeed a personal honour for you and an honour for the club. it is all the more significant because you are the first female in barbados to attain this prestigious office. for the past six months we, as a nation, have had to confront the many challenges that covid19 presented. it has impacted our economy adversely, caused a shift in economic policy, generated considerable uncertainty and altered how we interact socially. this meeting, held partially face - to - face and partially by on - line attendance, is but one example of how things have changed. at the same time, covid - 19 is creating opportunities indirectly for new and improved ways of doing business, that could advance economic development. in short, it is proving to be transformative. when covid - 19 first emerged, few imagined how devastating it would be. now, worldwide, millions have contracted the disease and hundreds of thousands have died. fortunately, in barbados, we have only lost seven people to the ailment, a reflection of our successful containment and the adaptability of our people to changing circumstances. our initial optimism that this health issue might be solved in just a few months is no longer realistic. indeed, the world health organisation is now speaking of the crisis being over in two years. the economic impact

international community might offer. the caribbean welcomes offers of additional assistance in the upgrading of financial surveillance. in particular, we are concerned about the inadequacy of data on regional and international linkages and cross border risk exposures. this is an issue of vital importance for domestic financial stability in the caribbean region, as well as for the stability of the region ’ s international financial business. in this connection we would be glad to be involved with the joint initiative of the imf and the financial stability board ( fsb ) on “ the financial crisis and information gaps ”, which speaks to these issues. however, the fsb ’ s “ non - cooperative jurisdictions ” initiative is puzzling and unhelpful. caribbean jurisdictions were in no way implicated in the recent international financial crisis, and there were no failures in ibfs sectors in caribbean jurisdictions. since the fsb ’ s mandate is international financial stability, its selection process, which has placed some caribbean jurisdictions on its priority list, appears to be flawed. the caribbean jurisdictions are fully involved in the fsap and rosc processes, and are adequately served by technical assistance. the fsb appears to be questioning the assessments published in the financial system stability assessments for caribbean countries. moreover, the fsb has not published the criteria by which it will supercede the judgment of fsap teams, reflected in the published fssas. in any case, what is required in order to strengthen financial surveillance is improved data and methodologies, not an additional review of information which will already be out of date. furthermore, it is unclear that the fsb has the technical capacity to render a balanced and informed judgment on the adequacy of financial systems. the fact that the fsb contemplates declaring as “ non - cooperative ” countries which are fully involved with the fsap and fatf processes, if taken at face value, implies a totally unjustified lack of confidence in the fsap process. the fsap was developed on the basis of intensive research and analysis, and the tools, techniques and processes of the fsap continue to be refined, in particular to incorporate the lessons of the international financial crisis. the fsb appears to discount this considerable intellectual investment, without providing an adequate substitute. in short, the fsb “ non - cooperative jurisdictions initiative ” lacks transparency, legitimacy, intellectual integrity and justification. rather than contribute to strengthening international financial stability it represents a disincentive for international financial cooperation