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Central Bank Of Barbados |
I am delighted
to welcome you to this 8th Domestic Financial Institutions
Conference. Since 2010, the Central Bank of Barbados, in collaboration with the
Financial Services Commission and the Barbados Bankers Association, has
organised this one day seminar to discuss issues of interest to domestic
financial institutions across the spectrum of banks, insurance companies,
credit unions, mutual funds and pension funds. This dialogue is important as a means of
shaping policy for the regulatory agencies and as a means of improved
understanding of emerging issues by the regulated and the regulator. We at the
Bank value these exchanges and it is for this reason that we continue to work
with our stakeholders to arrange this event.
This year the
seminar coincides with the celebration of the Bank’s 45th
Anniversary and deliberately so. Part of the ethos of the Bank has been its
pursuit of excellence through contribution to thought leadership. Each year we
provide opportunities for our stakeholders whether they are our staff,
regulated institutions or the wider public to benefit from interaction with
leaders in their respective fields of endeavour. Our Annual Review Seminar for
economists usually held in July and the Sir Winston Scott Lecture in November
are well established events from which budding academics or the ordinary
citizen can benefit. We hope that in time this conference by the depth of
discussion and the diversity of speakers that it attracts will achieve equal
acclaim to our other events.
As the
regulator for banks in Barbados we recognise the important role that financial
institutions play generally in our societies. Changes in technology are
changing the way that financial institutions interact with their customers and
we must adapt to these changes while satisfying ourselves that appropriate
safeguards are in place to manage the inevitable risks presented by these new
developments. This seminar provides an opportunity for us to flesh out some of
these issues as you will discern from today’s agenda which, following dialogue
with our stakeholders, cuts across various subsectors in the financial services
industry. We believe that you will find
this diversified programme appealing.
Governor of
the ECCB, Timothy Antoine, will lead off with the Keynote Address on
“Imperatives for Financial Sector
Development in the Caribbean”. Tim has been labouring in the vineyard of
regional economic development for some time and I’m sure that his contribution
this morning will challenge us and add significantly to the dialogue on how our
financial sectors can contribute to growth and development in the region.
Over lunch,
Kim Tudor of the National Initiative for Service Excellence will address us on
Employee Engagement in the financial services industry.
Financial
stability remains one of the mandates of the central bank and each year we
produce a Financial Stability Report. Anton Belgrave of the Central Bank will
provide a synopsis of the key findings in this year’s report.
Increasingly
the issue of cybercrime is capturing the attention of financial institutions
and regulators alike. Last year the Central Bank of Bangladesh was the victim
of cybercrime initiated via the SWIFT network which we all used to send funds
between financial institutions. While safeguards are being put in place to
minimise losses through this medium, it is important that we recognise the
myriad ways that our institutions can be attacked. Anil Persad of Ernst & Young,
Patricia Rowe Seale of CIBC First Caribbean and Jim Reid of LED Lighting, a
non-financial institution, will share their experiences on this crucial
subject.
Immediately
before lunch we will have a panel discussion on insurance led by Leticia
Alleyne of the Financial Services Commission and private sector leaders Anton
Lovell and Randy Graham.
In the
afternoon Rosina Knight of the FSC and Michele Johnson of the Central Bank
discuss fit and proper criteria for owners, directors and managers of financial
institutions.
In our last
session Michelle Doyle-Lowe of the Central Bank, Donna Wellington of CIBC
FirstCaribbean and retired banker Harold Russell will provide perspectives on
interest rates.
Welcome Remarks at the 2017 Domestic Financial Institutions Conference - Acting Governor Haynes.pdf (144.08 KB)