catherine kumar : setting the agenda for hemispheric progress - developments in the caribbean region presentation by ms catherine kumar, inspector of financial institutions, central bank of trinidad and tobago, at the vii annual assembly of the assocation of supervisors of the banks of the americas ( asba ), atlanta, 2 - 5 june 2004. * * * introduction good morning ladies and gentlemen, let me first thank asba for their kind invitation to address you on behalf of the caribbean region at this very important conference. it is indeed a pleasure to be here at my first meeting with asba as a group since i only recently joined this prestigious group of regulators. as i prepare to present to you on the issues and challenges that are currently facing us in the caribbean region, i would like to first update you on some important supervisory changes that have occurred in trinidad and tobago over the last few days. as many of you are aware, our government had been working assiduously to have the central bank of trinidad and tobago assume the role of the supervisor and regulator of the insurance industry and registered pension plans. this has become a reality as an amendment to the current insurance act was enacted may 25th, 2004. the challenges resulting from this amendment as you would imagine are many for me and i look forward to your support. the insurance industry has been expanding borders within the region and doing this without proper supervision or regulation. it is the central bank ’ s mandate to correct this and to do it with urgency. ladies and gentlemen, the supervisory bodies in our region are facing many challenges as a result of globalization. the cgbs therefore chose the theme “ towards effective regional financial sector supervision within a globalized context ” for this year ’ s conference to deal with some of the issues. the presentations were very thought provoking and in most cases solutions / recommendations were offered, that the cgbs will be seriously considering and implementing as considered necessary. let me thank jamaica and deputy governor audrey anderson for their leadership of the caribbean group of bank supervisors. it is not possible for me to discuss with you today all the issues raised at the conference but i would like to focus on two major areas and the supervisory response. these are ( 1 ) the imminent establishment of the caricom single market and economy ( csme ) and, ( 2 ) the ongoing challenges of consolidated supervision. i will conclude my address with an update on the developments in trinidad and tobago. the csme there is no doubt that this meeting today is taking place

round table discussions they each put their cell phone down ; you know we cannot go anywhere without this which has become part of us. there was much heated discussion and juggling of papers back and forth. sometime after, the cell phone rang and the executive answered : ¾ “ hello ”. ¾ “ hi sweetheart. i am so glad i got you. the real estate agent came around and said they can let us have the house for $ 5 million. i know it is a bit expensive but i really loved that house. can i please commit? ” ¾ “ sure darling, for you nothing is too expensive. you can commit to $ 5 million. ¾ “ and you know that luxury boat we saw - i think it would be so romantic, we can sail up the islands. oh how i would love to own it. it only costs $ 2 million. ” ¾ “ alright it is my gift to you. $ 2 million is fine. you are my greatest love. ” ¾ “ and of course i want to sport that 5 carat ring on my finger when we go out and i hold your hand. i can see the other ladies admiring us. the jeweler said he can make me a special offer of $ 1 million for it. can i tell him yes? ” ¾ “ my sweetheart sure you can, take the $ 1 million ring. bye. ” at the end of the conversation, much to the surprise of the others at the ease with which he made such major decisions without proper study and analyses, the executive said : “ excuse me gentlemen, but whose cell phone is this? ” the moral of this joke - while the cgbs is working on its commentary, we have to ensure the caricom secretariat is not making quick decisions on our behalf which could have a long and consequential impact on effective supervision. i wish to emphasize however that the cgbs supports any arrangement that results in the strengthening of the region ’ s legislation and supervisory framework but we must ensure that proper measures are in place to manage transitioning and in respect of the csme, address concerns of jurisdictional independence. colleagues, the effects of globalization are forcing us to come together as a region to try to buffer our smaller economies from the downside effects. the csme is one of the ways but it is not perfect and so we need the combined efforts including our latin american colleagues to make it work. at a recent seminar in barbados, ( the advocate may 22, 2004 )