s governance. there is no other path if the fund wishes to safeguard its reputation as a credible, even - handed and trusted global economic policy advisor to its members. madame lagarde, i understand that you are yet to visit the caribbean in your official capacity as managing director. given the fund ’ s heightened engagement with the region, we think it is an opportune time for you to visit and obtain a first - hand perspective of our strides towards economic development and to experience the warmth and hospitality of the caribbean islands. bis central bankers ’ speeches

, i must thank bernard aquing who did a lot of the ground work and was an excellent and most knowledgeable advisor, and the inspector of financial institutions, catherine kumar and her staff, and the committee, who did yeoman service in bringing this scheme into operation in such a relatively short time. as you may know, the establishment of a financial services ombudsman, encompassing all financial services is an important pillar of our vision for the financial sector, as outlined in the government ’ s white paper for financial sector reform. this vision sees trinidad and tobago as the financial center of a larger pancaribbean area with all the required architecture including : • a range of strong diversified financial institutions ; • a robust regulatory framework that meets international best practices ; • a cadre of well - trained financial sector professionals ; • an efficient, impartial judicial system ; and • a set of supporting institutions such as information vendors like our automated credit bureau, the regional credit rating agency and now our financial services ombudsman which we are launching today. experience elsewhere shows that a well functioning ombudsman scheme, by facilitating the orderly resolution of disputes, goes a long way towards strengthening credibility in the financial sector. ombudsman schemes are becoming more popular even in developing countries : • firstly, competition in the financial sector is giving rise to a range of new financial products, the full implications of which are not always obvious to the unsophisticated customer ; and • secondly, in today ’ s environment, customers are becoming increasingly aware of their rights and are more demanding about good service and fair treatment. both these factors underscore the need for mechanisms for lodging complaints and seeking redress. our very short experience with the banking services ombudsman has been very positive. for example, the data for 2004 shows that the number of eligible complaints received by the ombudsman ’ s office fell compared with the previous year. one possible reason is that the establishment of the office prompted banks to strengthen their internal mechanisms and to resolve complaints earlier to avoid having cases referred to the ombudsman. if this is indeed so, we have much to look forward to, with the expansion of the scheme to the insurance companies. ladies and gentlemen, we are fully aware that expanding the ombudsman scheme to cover the insurance industry will present special challenges. if we can judge from the number of complaints received by the market conduct unit ( some 425 in about 10 months ) the