delisle worrell : risk and efficiency opening remarks by dr delisle worrell, governor of the central bank of barbados, at the regional central banks information systems specialists ( rcbiss ) annual ( xxiii ) conference, bridgetown, 3 june 2013. * * * today i want to celebrate with you an outstanding success story of caribbean regional integration. for over two decades information specialists from central banks from across the region have met like this, to network among yourselves, share common experiences and take advantage of each others ’ expertise. similar networks now exist in almost every sphere of central banking activity in the region, to such a pervasive extent that we now take them for granted. we should commend ourselves on this achievement, and seek to use our networks ever more effectively, in attaining the objectives of our central banks. that is what this conference is about. how do we use the opportunities which new technologies offer us to deliver central banking services as efficiently as possible, without exposing the banking system to unacceptable levels of risk. we need to pay attention to all the elements in this statement. we should always bear in mind that the ultimate goal is to make our central banks more efficient in providing the services which are our responsibility. meetings like this one are an opportunity to ask ourselves how well we are performing in this regard. are our technologies being used to provide faster and more efficient banking services for the government, the commercial banks and other financial institutions that we hold accounts for? are our transactions in government securities, foreign currencies and securities, and other financial transactions increasing in efficiency as we improve our technologies. are we able to bring information more effectively to bear in the formulation of economic policy? and are we communicating more clearly and persuasively to the general public, with cogent analysis that is fully backed up with relevant data? is our oversight of the financial system keeping up with the world ’ s best regulatory guidance? the answers to these questions will tell us how effective our information technology strategies have been, and how we might need to adjust our strategies in pursuit of further gains. the second part of my statement above refers to maintaining risks at an acceptable level. the management of risk is a very complex matter, and i can make only a few observations about it in this morning ’ s address. first we have to determine what is an acceptable level of risk. that depends on the cost of the risky event, at every level of risk, and the availability of insurance against that

jaime caruana : implementation of basel ii and other key issues relating to banking supervision in latin america and the caribbean opening speech by mr jaime caruana, governor of the bank of spain and chairman of the basel committee on banking supervision, at the joint meeting of the fsi and asba, miami, 25 april 2006. * * * introduction first of all, i would like to thank rich spillenkothen and josef tosovsky for inviting me to participate in this joint meeting of the fsi and asba, during which we will be able to discuss various key issues for banking supervision in latin america and the caribbean over the next few years. two things are evident from the agenda. the first is that there are a large number of key topics to discuss today and tomorrow, which demonstrates the importance and timeliness of this meeting, which i am sure will be fruitful for all concerned. the second is that basel ii continues to be a central and priority topic for supervisors and the banking industry alike, as evidenced by the presence here today of major banking representatives, whom i would also like to thank for attending. it is well known that the committee has devoted a large part of its efforts over the past few years to first developing and then implementing the revised capital framework. today, we have the opportunity to debate different aspects relating to its implementation and application. once the phase of theoretical debate and standards drafting had been completed, the committee ’ s activities, in particular through its accord implementation group ( aig ), focused on implementing the framework. the time has therefore come to confront this practical reality, with all its difficulties and problems, through a dialogue with the industry and the global supervisory community. this is a major task, given that the aim is to strengthen banking systems and the international financial system, rendering them more robust, more stable, and thus more capable of contributing effectively to the growth and stability of our economies. despite the importance of basel ii, the proposed agenda also shows us that this is not the only topic currently of interest to the supervisory community. tomorrow, we will be discussing one of the committee ’ s key projects, which, i am convinced, affects all these supervisors gathered here today. i am referring to the basel core principles. with these introductory words, i would like to provide a general overview of the committee ’ s work in these areas. first, i will focus on the revision of the basel core principles, before moving on to talk about the implementation of the revised framework