Workshop

FINANCIAL STABILITY, INTERCONNECTEDNESS AND RISK ASSESSMENT IN THE CARIBBEAN

March 19th -20th 2015

In collaboration with the CARTAC

Two day conference which encompasses an IADB funded project and jointly hosted by the Caribbean Centre for Money and Finance (CCMF) and the Caribbean Regional Technical Assistance Centre (CARTAC).

2nd IADB Funded Workshop Financial Risk Assessment in an Integrating Region: The Caribbean
Non-Bank Financial Institutions and Financial Stability in a Regional Context

November 15th-16th 2014

In collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank and the Central Bank of Guyana

Second two day workshop which encompasses an IADB funded project and hosted by the Central Bank of Guyana.

2nd IADB Funded Financial Risk Assessment in an Integrating Region: The Caribbean
Assessing Macro-prudential Vulnerabilities And Policyframeworks In A Regional Context

November 25th-26th 2013

In collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank and the Central Bank of Barbados

Second two day conference which encompasses an IADB funded project and hosted by the Central Bank of Barbados. This project explores the Financial Risk Assessment of the Caribbean Region and attempts to provide a plan for monitoring and dealing with another financial crisis in the region. Participants from member Central Banks come together in an attempt to share ideas and plot a common path.

Price Formation and Inflation Dynamics in the Caribbean

July 23rd 2010

In collaboration with the CARTAC and the CARICOM Regional Financial Stability Workshop

The CCMF hosted a one day seminar on “Price Formation and Inflation Dynamics in the Caribbean” on Friday July 23rd, 2010.  The seminar which was sponsored by CARTAC brought together participants from regional central banks to discuss issues related to price rigidity and inflation persistence in the Caribbean.  The papers presented represent the output from a wider Price Formation Project which is being implemented by the CCMF with the support of two of the Centre’s Research Associates from UWI Cave Hill; Professor Roland Craigwell and Dr. Winston Moore.  Papers were presented by representatives from the Central Bank of Belize, Central Bank of the Netherlands Antilles, UWI, Cave Hill, Central Bank of Barbados and the CCMF.  The general theme which emanated from all the presentations was that prices in the Caribbean are far less rigid than prices in industrial countries, with price increases occurring more frequently than price decreases.  Further, work under the project will involve studies related to the identification of factors which influence price setting behavior.

Workshop on Regional Financial Stability a Caribbean Architecture

March 3rd - 5th 2010

In collaboration with the CARTAC and the CARICOM Regional Financial Stability Workshop

University of the West Indies Lecture Series: Sub Prime Risks and Emerging Opportunities for the Caribbean

October 27th-28th 2009

In collaboration with the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute Social Economic Studies and the University of the West Indies Department of Management

The CCMF hosted a two day workshop on October 27-28 2009 on the “Sub Prime Risks and Emerging Opportunities for the Caribbean” for students and academic staff of the University of the West Indies. Facilitating the workshop was Mr. Eric Guichard, CEO and Chairman of Gravitas, an international consultancy company. Issues covered included business ethics as it relates to the financial industry; emerging financial innovations; dilemmas concerning the form of organization of credit rating agencies; entrepreneurship in the financial sector, the financing of Small and Medium size enterprises, the role of Small Enterprise Assistance Funds ("SEAF") and the proposed role of the Trinidad and Tobago International Financial Centre (TTIFC).

Workshop participants went through the root causes of the subprime crisis in the US, and the lessons to be learnt. In particular, Mr. Guichard showed that prior to the crisis, both private and government sectors were doing well and therefore had a vested interest in maintaining economic prosperity. Houses surged by 30% in value between 2001-8, thus allowing banks to make larger volumes of loans. Counties and States also increased valuations of property in order to increase property tax collections, since this was tied directly to the value of the property. Moreover, this was done in an environment of low interest rates. This led pension fund managers, insurance and institutional investors to seek higher yielding investments, such as sub-prime mortgages. Further, private banks entered the market without having the necessary infrastructure to lend in the mortgage market. When the good times ended, the losses peaked at about 14 trillion US dollars.

What lessons can be learnt? Mr. Guichard showed that, among other things, there was an overemphasis on establishing rewards by volume rather than by quality. Participants also went through issues such as ethical dilemmas, since this was associated with excessive greed, leading to embezzlement of funds. This was reinforced by the fact that systems that were supposed to provide checks and balances also failed. Participants were led through some of the unresolved issues regarding those checks and balances such as credit rating agencies. For example, a critical issue concerned what was the best form for the ownership of credit rating agencies, who should pay for credit ratings and what was the best form of compensation.

The workshop then went on to address areas of opportunity for Trinidad and Tobago. This included discussions on SEAF and TTIFC. These initiatives had the potential to improve the global linkages of enterprises in Trinidad and Tobago with the global community.