small business entrepreneurs. in february 2008, through the auspices of the commonwealth secretariat, the central bank secured the services of an expert to prepare a basic “ how - to ” handbook for the small business sector. the expert ’ s work was reviewed by the major stakeholders in the sector and the result is the series of three pamphlets, entitled “ living the entrepreneurial dream ”, which we launch today. the first item of this series, “ start - up and operational issues for small and micro enterprises ”, addresses issues of relevance to new entrepreneurs. it includes a segment aimed at assisting persons in identifying whether they are really ready to start a business. it also deals with the critical aspects of business planning and cautions the aspiring entrepreneur of some of the risks and challenges involved in managing a business. the second booklet in the series, “ record keeping – how to keep financial records for your business ” underscores to small and micro entrepreneurs, the critical importance of keeping proper financial records. through the use of illustrations, templates and examples, the booklet provides the users with information that can assist them in maintaining proper cash - flow records, separating their personal from their business finances and continually monitoring the performance of the business. the third booklet of the series, “ financial services – where to find assistance for your business ” is a directory of the available agencies and organizations through which small and micro - entrepreneurs can obtain financial and other assistance such as training and mentorship. this particular booklet is important, since many persons who want to enter into business or who are already in business are not aware of the wide - ranging opportunities that are available to them. these booklets are not the end of the road, however. in collaboration with nedco, the chamber of commerce, ytepp, etc. we shall be training a number of potential trainers to disseminate our sme material to their sme clients or persons who are planning on owning their own business. to this end we are completing an “ instructors manual ” and “ trainees workbook ” both of which will be published and utilized in a series of sme train - the - trainer sessions. i am pleased to note, ladies and gentlemen, that the bank ’ s interest and work on financial education for small business have been actively supported by the inter - american development bank, through its multi - lateral investment fund ( mif ) and by the trinidad and tobago chamber of commerce. we also launch today, ladies and gentlemen, an insurance publication entitled “ protecting your

$ 300 billion, or 35 per cent of total issues of debt instruments. their share of outstanding debt is now more than 20 per cent. in the us market, securitization has centred on loan assets of better - than - average quality, which has led to the issue of highly rated securities. in italy, it has been used mainly to reduce the incidence of doubtful credits and thus improve the average quality of banks ’ assets. since 1994 some 8 trillion lire of bank loans have been securitized, of which only 400 billion consisted of performing loans. the passage in april of a law on securitization opens up business possibilities previously foreclosed by uncertainty about the legal framework. the prospects for growth depend strictly on banks ’ ability and willingness to offer the market good quality claims and to develop the entire gamut of services and specializations required. bank managements will have to acquire the specific know - how needed for the evaluation of the complex risk - return combinations involved. there is also growing recourse by some leading italian banks to credit derivatives, which allow credit risk to be transferred while maintaining title to the underlying credit relationship. the possibility of isolating one or more aspects of the risk associated with credit business and transferring them to other parties via derivative contracts enables banks to keep only the components of risk that they consider they are best equipped to handle. this trend towards specialization explains the high degree of concentration in credit derivatives business. in june 1999 the top five us banks accounted for 80 per cent of the american market with positions totaling $ 258 billion. italian banks ’ credit derivatives business is mostly channeled through their foreign branches ; not only does it respond to the need to diversify risk but it also allows them to penetrate new markets by acquiring positions with customers that it would otherwise have been difficult to establish business relations with. at the end of the second quarter of 1999 the notional value of italian banks ’ contracts in the united states amounted to $ 15. 3 billion, or 6 per cent of the total market. the development of credit derivatives in the italian market is likely to make it easier to implement policies aimed at correcting situations of excessively concentrated sectoral and geographical lending. 2. the experience with solvency ratios the capital adequacy rules introduced by the basel capital accord of 1988 constitute the main point of reference for supervisory authorities everywhere. the basic elements of the accord are still fully valid today : capital resources as the safeguard of banks ’ stability, risk - weighted capital ratios