held by smaller locally owned banks including a few state - owned banks. i would expect bank concentration in the region to intensify over the next few years. as part of this consolidation, i would expect the trend towards the disappearance of merchant banks, which are being absorbed into universal banking structures, to intensify. i would expect a similar trend towards consolidation in the insurance industry, though, led by regional insurance firms. in trinidad and tobago, for instance, the proposal in the draft insurance act for a significant increase in regulatory capital will certainly tend to promote consolidation. the crisis could also provide impetus for greater recourse to : technology and innovation – the general perception is that ( apart from the expansion of atms ) the region has not come close to maximizing the use of technology to increase efficiency and reduce banking spreads. it is therefore reasonable to expect that competition and the drive to maintain profitability will provide the necessary impetus to the greater use of technology. as regards innovation, i do not anticipate our relatively small conservative regional banking system will establish a market for exotic derivatives. i, however, expect an expansion in the markets for basic hedging instruments and the continued evolution of new banking products designed to facilitate greater credit expansion to the energy sector, to small businesses and to agriculture. greater attention to customer service – this is an emerging trend which will become more commonplace over time. financial institutions will continue to increase their interaction with their customers through more active use of web - based social networking such as facebook and twitter. this will be extremely useful as institutions attempt to rebuild the trust and confidence that were eroded by the financial crisis. rise in information portals – the increasing sophistication of customers and the availability of a wider array of financial products will lead to the expanding use of financial information portals. there would also be important changes in the regional regulatory environment as a result of the international financial crisis. basically, as is now happening in several of the advanced economies, we in the caribbean are likely to see a change in our regulatory philosophy. for years, we have been taking a “ soft touch ” approach to regulation, aligned to the philosophy of the market mechanism. in the caribbean, as elsewhere, this approach has led to the excesses, which caused the crisis. in the post crisis environment, i would expect regulation to be more comprehensive and much more intrusive, designed to include a macro - economic perspective. if there is anything that the crisis in the cl financial group undersco

ewart s williams : the future of the financial industry after the crisis opening address by mr ewart s williams, governor of the central bank of trinidad and tobago, at the 14th caribbean business executive seminar, caribbean centre for money and finance, port of spain, 30 april 2010. * * * let me first thank the caribbean centre for money and finance for inviting me to make a few opening remarks at this their 14th business executive seminar. given the ccmf ’ s mandate, the theme of your conference “ the future of the financial services industry after the crisis ” is most timely. let me also congratulate ccmf on assembling a most impressive cast of speakers, who could be expected to bring diverse perspectives and unique insights into how our financial sector is likely to evolve over the next few years. since the international financial crisis, governments and central banks in both developed and developing countries have been giving serious thought to the future of the financial services industries in their respective economies. in particular, a lively debate continues to rage on about the regulatory response to the crisis and on the measures needed to avoid a repetition. the causes of the financial crisis have been well - documented and analysed and i don ’ t plan to review that discussion here. suffice it to say that there is widespread agreement that the legacy of the crisis will be long - lasting with significant changes expected in the global financial landscape going forward. there is perhaps less consensus on what shape the new landscape will take. in respect of the advanced economies, where the crisis originated, and which suffered most from the ravages of the crisis, the good news is that the near - term outlook for the financial sector has improved significantly. in the united states ( us ), bank stocks have rallied and those of the four largest banks have been among the best performers in the s & p 500 since the market hit bottom in march 2009. this month, four of the largest financial institutions in the us, jp morgan chase, bank of america, citigroup and goldman sachs reported healthy first quarter earnings. despite these indicators, there continues to be serious risks to financial stability in these economies, arising from the withdrawal of government support, continued write - downs to compensate for further asset deterioration and funding pressures, as institutions seek to reduce leverage and raise capital and liquidity buffers. in these advanced economies, debate is still raging on the long term financial sector outlook. for example : the optimal size of financial institutions – many experts expect that