##i ) norms. hedge funds have long used arrangements that allow them to execute trades with several dealers but there is now an increasing tendency on their part to consolidate the clearing and settlement of their trades at a single firm, the " prime broker ". prime brokerage poses some unique challenges for the management of counterparty credit and operational risk. it is commonly observed at the global level that hedge funds are " opaque " – that is, information about their portfolios is typically limited and infrequently provided. the information a fund provides may also vary considerably depending on whether the recipient of the information is an investor, a counterparty, a regulatory authority, or a general market participant. from a policy perspective, transparency to investors is largely an issue of investor protection, which, in turn, depends on the nature of investors. the need for counterparties to have adequate information is a risk - management issue. concerns about hedge fund opacity and possible liquidity risk have motivated a range of proposals for regulatory authorities to create and maintain a database of hedge fund positions. there are some uncertainties associated with the settling of trades in newer types of over - the - counter ( otc ) derivatives, particularly credit derivatives. as part of recent financial innovations, the creditderivative and structured - credit markets have grown rapidly during the past few years, allowing dispersion of credit risk by financial players. perhaps, it is necessary to evolve mechanisms to ascertain the size and structure of risk components, the scale and direction of risk transfers, and, therefore, the distribution of risk within the economy. in the recent years, the issue of institutional mechanisms for the prevention and resolution of financial crises at the multilateral level has assumed importance. on the question whether the international financial architecture is now in a position to give comfort if a country were to have a problem, there are four aspects. firstly, undoubtedly, the resilience of the world today and the private capital markets in particular, has improved enormously since 1997. macro - economic policies and approaches of international financial institutions as well as the resilience of markets have improved. secondly, even though in terms of magnitude, the official / bilateral flows of funds are miniscule, the very intent of such flows, guided by broader societal consideration, gives them strength in the face of private flows. thirdly, as we are aware, risks are never eliminated but are only mitigated. the existing international financial architecture is not adequate to prevent or

curacao financial sector : ready for 2019 and beyond √ speech delivered by mrs. l. matroos - lasten acting president centrale bank van curacao en sint maarten on the occasion of the information session on replacing the old off - shore ; embracing the new reality centrale bank van curacao en sint maarten october 25, 2018 your excellency : the prime minister of curacao, mr. eugene rhuggenaath the minister of finance of curacao, mr. kenneth gijsbertha distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, good evening. there is a tendency to assume that stimulating growth and the strengthening of specific economic pillars is the sole responsibility of the government. however, as we have been recently experiencing in curacao, initiatives jointly undertaken by all key stakeholders are crucial to achieve the desired development and growth of an industry and / or an economic sector. while the private sector knows best the trends and needs, the role of the public sector is to create and safeguard the right investment climate and regulatory framework for businesses to operate, grow, and attract direct investment. the collective actions of the public and private sectors will certainly lead to sustainable economic growth and progress. for that reason, the centrale bank van curacao en sint maarten, supports the initiatives and actions that cifa and other stakeholders have been taking in due preparation of replacing the old offshore regime in favor of a new and more transparent ( fiscal ) framework, set to take effect in 2019. the theme of this information session, “ curacao financial sector, ready for 2019 and beyond ” is fitting, given the developments in the international financial services industry. today, i would like to discuss the potential role of the central bank in this new reality starting 2019, but first, i would like to provide a short overview of the long history of curacao as a provider of international financial services and the international context in which we have been and are now operating. ladies and gentlemen, international financial services activities in curacao date back to the late 1930s. although other countries in the region provided advantages such as being zero - tax havens, many companies ultimately chose curacao as the location to establish their business activities because of its political and economic stability, freedom of capital movements, the availability of a skilled labor - force, convenient location and communications, and the presence of related services including banking, legal, tax advisory, and audit. in addition,