useless and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful. " in closing, my own hardworking staff would have enough integrity to chastise me if i didn't point out that bank of jamaica, in recognition of the need to create opportunities for young entrants to the labour market, established the graduates opportunity for learning and development ( gold ) programme in 2016. it met an urgent need of creating a pool of candidates who have been exposed to the fundamentals of central banking practice. this is a critical step towards expediting the process of selection and recruitment and improving the efficiency of the bank's on - boarding process. participants in the gold programme are provided with specific training opportunities that are designed to ensure the integration of technical and non - technical knowledge, skills and abilities in the performance of the various functions within the departments of the bank. so far, the bank's staff complement has increased through the recruitment of 80 new employees who successfully completed the 2016 and 2017 gold programmes. hopefully, we will soon be seeing some of you. i have reflected on the four - way test used by rotary that asks : is it the truth? is it fair to all concerned? will it build goodwill and better friendships? will it be beneficial to all concerned? as you consider your future and wonder how you will climb the ladder in a competitive market, perhaps you can also bear in mind these questions : is what i do in demand? am i good at it and do i love it? how can i enhance and advertise my skills? " always remember, ladies and gentlemen, that you were born to win but, in order to be a winner, you must plan to win and prepare to win before you can expect to win. thank you. 3 / 3 bis - central bankers'speeches

banking and financial system. a strong and healthy financial system is critical for the growth and development of any country. throughout the long history of financial markets, there have been a number of banking and financial crises that have severely disrupted economies. there is no reason for us to believe that there will be an end to these disruptions in an era of continuing technological change and innovation. what is therefore important is that we continually seek to prevent and mitigate future crises. this we can do with a blend of sharp analysis, keen judgment, practical experience and a rigorous understanding of the workings of financial markets in both normal and abnormal times. i believe that this is what defines effective banking supervision. it is also this rigorous understanding of the operations of financial markets that is of critical importance to the development of macroeconomic policy inclusive of monetary policy. mr. chairman, over two and a half centuries ago, in the 18th century to be exact, adam smith wrote of the free - market system as the “ invisible ” hand that guides the market to achieve the public good. while that concept has today still not lost its resonance, the increase in the complexity of economic and financial affairs and the potential for instability that this has fostered, has placed us in a new arena. an arena, whose sphere of influence is constantly changing and one that therefore requires close and integrated monitoring in order for us to understand and manage the risks that abound. the banking crises of the last quarter of a century and particularly those of the last ten years have had a damaging impact on economic activity and the repercussions have been devastating for a number of economies. there is therefore no room for countries in our region to be less than aggressive in ensuring a more careful, integrated and direct oversight of the financial system to complement at least, that “ invisible hand ” of which adam smith wrote. this is of course, what asba is trying to achieve. i use the word integrated because in some of our jurisdictions, jamaica for example, supervision is divided among institutions. in the jamaican case we have over the years reduced the number of supervisory authorities in the financial sector to two. this has achieved positive results in terms of the efficiency of supervision. it is my view that we could achieve an even greater level of effectiveness by going one step further with the establishment of a single supervisory authority for the financial system as a whole. i also believe that there are significant advantages to be derived from the integrated interplay between the roles of supervision and the effort to achieve financial