ewart s williams : victor e bruce – a pioneer of trinidad and tobago's financial development tribute by mr ewart s williams, governor of the central bank of trinidad and tobago, at the opening of the victor e bruce financial complex, port - of - spain, 18 june 2012. * * * i am honoured to be part of this very significant naming ceremony and i would like to thank the tobago house of assembly for inviting me to say a few words about my predecessor and the “ father ” of our central bank, victor edward bruce, in whose honour this building is being dedicated. there is a certain irony to this ceremony taking place at this time and in this place – tobago. you see, just before his retirement in 1984, victor bruce was the main driver of the project to construct the financial complex in port of spain. as it turned out, the complex which was completed in 1987, was named in honour of another national icon, dr. eric eustace williams, our first prime minister. naming the financial complex in tobago after victor bruce is therefore a well - deserved, even if a belated recognition. i would like to congratulate the tha on its decision to name this beautiful complex in honour of the first local governor of our central bank, a true pioneer of our country ’ s financial development. to me this initiative, coming on the heels of the renaming of the anr robinson international airport, is a clear demonstration of our newfound commitment to recognise and to pay tribute, to those who have made exceptional contributions to our society. naming places and buildings after our heroes have the effect of reminding us, in tangible terms, that we are part of something much larger than ourselves. it also serves to promote a sense of community and social continuity – critical elements in the maturation of a people. victor bruce was first and foremost, a tobagonian and a proud and distinguished tobagonian. but, in a fundamental sense, he was much more than that. sir courtenay blackman, former governor of the central bank of barbados and one of victor ’ s close collaborators, in a tribute to victor ’ s memory, opined that victor bruce did not belong only to tobago or even to trinidad and tobago but was a citizen of the world. in governor blackman ’ s view, bruce had talent so great, networking connections so vast, and a capacity for service so tremendous that he could not be contained within the confines of his native land. it was thus not surprising that his last days

that level of reserve cushion, rumours of an impending devaluation are misguided. i would like to make some comments about the challenges that the central bank, as regulator, faces in a rapidly evolving financial system. several analysts have put the blame for the clico / cib financial collapse squarely on inadequate regulation by the regulator, the central bank. of course, this is what happens whenever there is financial stress. invariably, the finger is pointed to the regulator. inadequate or the absence of regulation has been blamed for the collapse of financial institutions in the united states, as well as for the madoff and stanford scandals ; the fsa has been faulted for the demise of the northern rock and the other failed institutions in the uk and the list goes on and on. if you look across the world, it seems that regulators are busy trying to resolve some sort of financial calamity. but regulation of financial institutions is not new. regulation has been in existence for over one hundred and fifty years. so why have regulators not mastered the job of regulation. well, i could think of three reasons : 1. rapidly evolving innovation and creativity in terms of services and products being offered by financial institutions. 2. the recognition that risk taking should not be totally outlawed since under certain conditions it could benefit consumers. 3. the fact that laws cannot legislate good behaviour or by extension, good governance. 4. an ideological shift towards free markets and minimal regulation. how does this relate to cl financial and clico. clico, in many ways, was a pioneer and a path - breaker on the local financial scene. for years it led in the provision of insurance services in trinidad and tobago and indeed in the region. for the most part, clico ’ s expansion proceeded under conditions of limited regulation as the office of the insurance supervisor, in the ministry of finance, lacked the resources to act as a regulator. as you know, in the early days insurance companies collected premiums and invested the proceeds in government securities and in mortgages. over time, as incomes and the demand for savings - products increased and as our local capital markets did not expand in step, insurance companies had to look further afield for investment opportunities. clico was the leader in this endeavour. by the time the insurance industry was transferred to central bank in mid - 2004, cl financial, with clico as its main financial company, had already become a major conglomerate in trinidad and tobago and in the region with 60 subsidiaries