Fight back
Friday March 18 2011 | 04:21 AM

Barbados needs to act urgently and forestall continued threats against its second largest money earner, international business and financial services.

Central Bank of Barbados Governor Dr. DeLisle Worrell wants the island to be more forceful and join with other regional partners and other countries to influence international financial reform. He believes a critical start will be the fight to get the initiative for such back on the agenda of the International Monetary Fund where Barbados has a voice.

He gave the advice yesterday during the opening of the International Business & Financial Services Sector Conference at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, Two Mile Hill, St. Michael.

Speaking on the topic The Importance of the International Business and Financial Sector and How We Must Address its Challenges the economist said Barbados needed to "up our game in a collaborative exercise between regulators, official agencies and market participants".

"We must not find ourselves any longer in the position of followers, reacting to initiatives, mostly threatening, that originate in the OECD and G-20, of which we are not members," he said.

"We must find ways to move the initiative for financial reform back onto the agenda of the IMF, where we do have a voice. We must also take the lead in forming alliances, regionally and beyond, to promote changes that genuinely level the playing field, and address the vulnerabilities that matter to us."

Worrell said the Central Bank had started its own efforts in this regard but there was a need to "build on these foundations".

Having issued a statement on the importance of the sector, the Caribbean's commitment to maintaining the highest international standards of conduct and information at a meeting with the Managing Director of the IMF in October last year, he said the intention was to follow up at the regional level via regional Governors' meetings, which are held twice a year.

He noted too that the Financial Stability Board, an organ of the G-20 group of countries, was establishing regional advisory groups, "which will provide us an opportunity to have a voice at that level".

"We must also be pro-active in our participation in the meetings of the unfortunately titled Offshore Group of Bank Supervisors, which meets next week. On their agenda, among other things, is a proposal for a change of name, which we will support," Worrell said.

"Barbados also needs to energise the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force, and to consider how we may gain voice in the councils of the Financial Action Task Force. The upcoming Spring meetings of the IMF and World Bank are an opportunity to engage with these institutions in furtherance of this agenda."

The Governor said the Central Bank "has formed a small task force to coordinate our work in the area of international financial services, and a regional task force of regulators is being assembled, to support the Committee of Central Bank Governors in driving forward these initiatives".

"We need full involvement and advice from Caribbean regulators and from industry practitioners at every step as we go forward. In carrying forward our agenda, the industry and its regulators will need to upgrade systems for collecting, analyzing and disseminating data and information on the performance of our IBFS sectors," he stated.

He expected yesterday's concerns to advance the process and said "we intend that this event should initiate a more frequent process of involvement with you in maintaining the competitiveness of our international business and financial services sector, and in guaranteeing the high quality of the products we have on offer".