for example : • we have held financial education classes in 140 primary schools and, in a pilot project, in 28 secondary schools. • we have had 75 work - place “ lunch and learn ” sessions, sponsored by employers but with instructors and material provided by the programme. • we have accepted invitations from several trade unions to conduct financial management seminars for employees in receipt of back - pay or other lump - sum payments. • we have had several interventions at the community level, mostly in rural areas. • we have used the wider pathways, the print and electronic media and other publications to disseminate basic financial information and types that could be useful to consumers of financial services. ladies and gentlemen, when we launched this programme we emphasized that financial literacy should be the business of the entire society and sought the support of all those who were in a position to help. we even suggested that some individuals with financial skills should see the financial literacy programme as a way of giving back to society. we are pleased that many people have responded to our invitation. we have been able to sign some 150 volunteers, many from the financial sector but other interested persons from all walks of life. we are now trying to encourage sixth form students to join the programme to provide instructions to their peers and to other students. i would like to express our deep appreciation to those volunteers who have devoted their time and talents to this very worthwhile venture. thanks also to our service providers who have helped get the programme off to a successful start. we saw the programme as an opportunity for good corporate citizenship and much of that has been forthcoming. some corporations have contributed through the financing of lunch and learn sessions for their employees. a few have provided or have pledged financing. in this context, we would like to recognize and express our special appreciation to : • bankers ’ association of trinidad and tobago ( batt ) • trinidad and tobago petroleum company ( petrotrin ) • bp trinidad and tobago ( bptt ) • telecommunications services of trinidad and tobago ( tstt ) • trinidad and tobago unit trust corporation ( utc ) • trinidad and tobago mortgage finance ( ttmf ) • association of trinidad and tobago insurance company ( attic ) ladies and gentlemen, this programme will in time have tremendous payoffs for our entire society. the economy has been going through a period of strong growth with increasing employment and rising incomes. it is critically important that the current gains in real income have a sustainable impact on our economic welfare. and this will only happen if more and more people

more complex landscape, however, has also presented risks – posing challenges for regulators, industry and consumers alike. this is particularly true when complexity leads to opacityor when novel innovations neglect to account for basic risks – either to the entity or their customersit is also true when information and " choice " grows in such abundance to be neither informative nor an enabler of decision making. such risks are ones we have been considering in a consumer context for some time now, and featured in our regulatory and supervisory outlook2 earlier this year – including : risks from unclear information being provided at various points in the customer journey ; risks to consumers from evolving business models ; and technologydriven risks from cyber security as well as frauds and scams – the latter one of the reasons combatting financial crime is the theme of our inaugural innovation sandbox to launch later this year. and these are just some examples of how the financial sector and financial risks are changing for consumers – mirroring the wider complexity and change in our daily lives. the paradox of choice " too many choices, too many decisions, too little time - " 3 no i am not talking about trying to keep up with my streaming habits, rather this is a quote from'the paradox of choice'– a book about how decision making had become too complex due to an abundance of choices. the point is while choice is obviously a good thing – too much choice can be counterproductive. published 20 years ago, i would suggest that the situation has significantly worsened in the intervening years. and while this issue extends to all parts of our lives, and is most often merely an annoyance, in a financial services context it increases the risks of consumer detriment and financial loss, and can run counter to empowering consumers to make decisions in their own best interests. in the health insurance context, in terms of in - patient plans, it does appear there is an abundance of choice. for example, at the end of 2023, there were 350 active in - patient plans. notwithstanding this proliferation of plans, around 50 % of people with health insurance are on one of only 30 plans. again, while consumer choice is obviously a good thing – there is a concern that too much choice is impacting how much engagement consumers are having with the options available to them, resulting in consumers not considering, or not being offered, the best and most suitable product available. 2 / 5 bis - central bankers'speeches this is something from a supervisory point of view that