glenford ysaguirre : from the global financial crisis to more robust regulatory frameworks and resilient financial systems feature address by mr glenford ysaguirre, governor of the central bank of belize, at the caribbean group of banking supervisors xxix annual conference, san pedro town, 16 june 2011. * * * a pleasant good morning to mr. cleviston haynes – cgbs chair ; representatives from the association of supervisors of banks of the americas ( asba ), the office of the supervisor of the currency ( occ ), the us department of the treasury, the federal deposit insurance corporation ( fdic ) ; members of cgbs ; participants of this, the twenty - ninth annual cgbs conference. ladies and gentlemen, let me join my staff in welcoming you to belize and to the, warm, friendly and scenic location of san pedro, ambergris caye. it is indeed my pleasure to have this opportunity to address this gathering today. i understand that you have a very heavy agenda so my intent is to be very brief and not to stray from the script as is often my wont. as leading entities charged with the supervision of the financial sector, we all carry an enormous responsibility and one that ought not to be taken lightly. today, i see the work of the cgbs as one of the few shining examples of a regional institution that does not seem to be afflicted with that, oh so common and familiar malady i call the caricom malaise. this is that common condition where we meet a lot, talk a lot, agree on a lot, debate a lot, and then we resolve not to do a damn lot. let me give you an example : take our attempt to get members to adopt a single draft model banking act across the region. while unanimously agreed to almost six years ago, it languishes in suspension as formal acceptance by a few jurisdictions is as yet forthcoming with no explanations for the protraction. but, my purpose here today is not to dwell on the negative, but rather to plant an idea whose time i think has come. i hope it will pique your interest sufficiently for you to forgive my departure from the normal feature address format. the theme for today ’ s conference is very fitting and timely : “ from the global financial crisis to more robust regulatory frameworks and resilient financial systems ” i like this theme because it is forward looking and is in perfect consonance

outside of members ’ jurisdictions ; and • the methodology and approach for the regional financial risk assessment project. on the matter of the ccmf serving as the central reporting facility, there were questions as to its appropriateness, ability and capacity to manage such a task : • does it have the necessary financial and human resources? • do they have the required expertise, bearing in mind that this is a research institution? • how will the issue of legality and confidentiality be resolved? from recent discussion and exchanges between governors at and after the 27 may 2011 governors ’ caucus held in bridgetown, barbados it does not appear that we are anywhere near to resolving these issues and a sub - committee of governors was appointed specifically to look into these issues, among others. so, when i was tasked by my supervision department to make this feature address, these were some of the issues that governors were still hotly debating and i became fearful that this very important project may also fall victim to the dreaded caricom malaise. it then dawned on me that the cgbs and not the ccmf may be the only salvation and the ideal rescue vehicle for this project. in 1983, caricom central bank governors envisaged the need for an entity to spearhead the enhancement of regional banking supervision practices in line with internationally accepted standards. hence, the birth of cgbs, an institution charged with charting the way forward for supervisors to maintain above - board practices and equilibrium in regulating financial sectors across the caricom region. since then the cgbs has grown and accomplished much, and as i mentioned earlier, is one of the few caricom institutions that actually produces real work in the true spirit and meaning of regional integration. it is the obvious choice to be the central reporting facility and should be the home of the financial stability project ; financial stability review falls naturally within its bailiwick. what i am saying is that the time has come to legally establish the cgbs as caricom ’ s supranational financial regulatory authority. such a structured cgbs would eliminate all the concerns governors now have about the appropriateness of the ccmf for this role in particular the concerns on the legality of regional information sharing. presently, the conduct of cgbs members towards each other has been guided by a protocol based on mutual respect and trust. there is a members ’ handbook and a recently signed memorandum of understanding for regional cooperation though none of these are legally binding.