of non - bank activity in the economy. a heavy public outcry over the tardiness and reactive response on the part of the ministry of finance and the central bank to protect their deposits, eventually led to the formation of the dic in september 1986, more than 5 years after the financial institutions ( non - banking ) act took effect in mid - 1981, and more than 7 years after the non - banking act was passed and assented to in 1979 but never proclaimed due to a still unexplained failure to publish the necessary regulations. the cost of the late arrival of deposit insurance to trinidad and tobago was not only reflected in the heavy financial support to problem institutions, but in the erosion of public trust and confidence in the regulatory authorities. the fledgling dic immediately became responsible for managing the deposit insurance payout of four insolvent institutions. by may 1993, the corporation would oversee the closure of four more failed institutions. nonetheless, the dic managed to successfully discharge its mandate and to contribute to depositor confidence in the safety of their funds held in member financial institutions. bis central bankers ’ speeches impact of global crisis on national safety nets ladies and gentlemen, as we fast forward to the present, our experience of the current global financial crisis points to some limitations of existing national safety nets for safeguarding financial stability. deposit insurance, a key element of the national safety net, has proved to be inadequate at alleviating financial distress in many countries. you may recall that when the crisis erupted at northern rock in the united kingdom, the u. k. authorities were eventually forced to introduce a comprehensive guarantee for depositors and creditors to calm the markets and general public. authorities in ireland were also compelled to institute blanket guarantee schemes for virtually all bank liabilities, amid fears that the entire irish banking sector was about to fail. moreover, the collapse of lehman brothers highlighted the importance and urgency of establishing a legal framework for dealing effectively with resolution of cross - border financial entities. at its summit in pittsburgh in october 2009, the g - 20 leaders called for the development of “ resolution tools and frameworks for the effective resolution of financial groups to help mitigate the disruption of financial institution failures and reduce moral hazard in the future. ” last year, the g - 20 leaders endorsed an international standard – the financial stability board ’ s key attributes of effective resolution regimes for financial institutions – that lays down what resolution regimes need to look like in different jurisdictions around the world without severe systemic disruption and without exposing

his personality. his restlessness, his rapture, his rash impetuousness – his causes and carings, his sudden concepts – seemed to be no different from the nation ’ s. ” again, on a deeper, more compelling level, i found slipstream to be prescient, perhaps foretelling the dismal fate that could befall our present generation of caribbean leaders if they fail to put aside their “ macho ” personal ambitions in favor of re - engineering our small, highly open vulnerable economies and societies to withstand mounting pressures, both from inside and outside. none other than sir shridath ramphal, a caribbean luminary and the distinguished speaker at last year ’ s eric williams memorial lecture, emphatically notes that leadership in the region has “ put the gears of the caricom single market in neutral and the gears of caricom single economy into reverse ”. completing the trilogy is the book entitled, “ horses in her hair : a granddaughter ’ s story ”, rachel manley ’ s ode to her grandmother, edna manley. as rachel manley writes “ looking for the meaning in edna manley ’ s life is baffling if the conundrum is approached headon. she was always more in the weave of life than in the embroidery. she saw the world in terms of the symbolic, most things open to her interpretation. she understood and lived her life between its lines rather than according to an accepted script. edna, cousin to both norman and bustamante, crept between the starker realities to claim another role – a role, some say, as mother of jamaica ’ s artistic soul. ” in my opinion, horses in her hair is a stark reminder that as we seek to forge a new caribbean home, as we seek to cast away the island hubris of our leaders, we must balance our quantity of life, with our quality of life. culture must be an important vehicle that inspires our quest for greater caribbean regional unity. we have seen the unifying strength of culture in our playwrights like nobel laureate derek walcott, in our folk poets like louise bennett, in our creators of dance like beryl mcburnie, in our artistes like bob marley, and in our social commentators like the mighty sparrow. as i close, it is my view that rachel is ideally placed to render judgment on whether the caribbean can withstand the existential clash between history and circumstances ; to render judgment on whether the caribbean can