the organisation value through improved productivity and efficiency, enhanced customer experience, reduced costs, substantial risk mitigation, better compliance and business continuity. at the bank of guyana, we have made considerable investments in the area of information technology over the years and continue to do so. despite their cost magnitude, we persist bis central bankers ’ speeches with these investments because we believe that once properly leveraged they will enable the organisation to do more with less by : ( i ) increasing staff efficiency and productivity ; ( ii ) strengthening relationships with the organisation ’ s customers ; and ( iii ) fostering more effective collaboration with various business partners to quicken the speed at which data that is required for decision - making can be provided. in striving to achieve these goals, we are exposed to the likelihood of being affected by the major risks that are attendant with information technology use. consequently, the institution continues to allocate resources to : ( a ) make its information systems and the supporting technical infrastructure more reliable and resilient ; and ( b ) protect the integrity of the institution ’ s data assets. achievement of the foregoing objectives is heavily dependent on all information technologyrelated activities and investments being channelled in a manner that is consistent with the organisation ’ s goals and needs – the so called it / business alignment challenge that appears to be so elusive in many cases. here, from a management oversight perspective, one cannot overemphasise the necessity of embracing governance mechanisms that are fit for purpose. to remain relevant, the information technology function must continually evaluate and if necessary enhance its existing capability to ensure that it can meet the requirements of core business processes while being in tune with the current and envisaged directions of the organisation. as needs and roles change, the organisation must be able to customise its information environment and modify its processes in response. this practice forms a good base to pursue new information technology initiatives. allow me to share with you several prescriptive pointers which i am sure that you have heard several times before and are probably guided by these and similar practices in your respective central banks. notwithstanding, the familiarity, i believe that it is appropriate for me to repeat them at a forum such as this. during the course of this week, as you deliberate on how to ensure that your organisation ’ s information technology investments remain appropriate, i encourage you to be guided by the following pointers which are selfexplanatory : • understand the value of your organisation ’ s data and tie information

transaction - oriented approach to supervision and as we move further away, cooperation among the regulatory bodies will become even more important given the home / host relationship and the magnitude of the risk that is inherent in such relationships. i have noted that over the last thirty years, the cgbs has endeavoured to strengthen its supervisory and regulatory framework of the regional central banks and monetary authorities. it has established technical working groups to address inter alia consolidated supervision, crisis management and basle requirements and has put in place the requisite instrument to facilitate information sharing and cooperation with foreign regulatory bodies. your members are also active participants in supervisory colleges where banks span several countries and i am aware that yesterday three supervisory colleges were held. much emphasis has been placed on ensuring that the banking sector remains safe and sound, however, there are non - bank institutions that could severely threaten such safety and soundness and consequently the same level of attention / emphasis should also be directed to those institutions. perhaps, cgbs could consider expanding its conference scope in the future to include regional non - bank regulators with whom your constituents interface. both banks and non - bank financial institutions are integral to the safety and soundness of the financial system. ladies and gentlemen, let me conclude by saying that our approaches to supervision and the depth of our regulation would continue to require proactivity and enhancement as the financial landscape continues to change. the central bank governors of the region will continue to rely on the cgbs to provide the advice and guidance needed to keep our region safe. success in this regards depend on the thoroughness and robustness of your work and bis central bankers ’ speeches the reliability and efficacy of the methods you employ. you must continue to organize and support the necessary training and mentoring of supervisors so that a pool of capable and technically sound personnel is always available and that greater reliability may be placed on their output. during today and tomorrow several papers will be presented on a variety of sub themes and i anticipate that at the end of this conference some critical imperatives would have been identified to steer us through the current challenges and others looming on the horizon. our confidence in the role of the cgbs has never been misplaced. i wish you all successful deliberations and trust that your stay here will afford you the opportunity to discover for yourself the beauty of our country and the warmth of the guyanese people. welcome once again to all. bis central bankers ’ speeches