Sinckler calls for more regional cooperation

VOICING CONCERN ABOUT what he called “some not so glorious reports of some of the financial instability in our financial sectors across the region”, Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler is recommending increased cooperation among regional financial regulators.
Delivering the feature address at the opening of the Caribbean Association of Pension Supervisors Conference at Hilton Barbados this morning, Sinckler said increased exchange of information and harmonisation of regulations and legislation in the Caribbean was “absolutely critical” in such a climate.
He highlighted “ongoing harassment” by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, a “very invasive and almost invective type approach” by the United States Congress on the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, and Canadian news reports of the negative fallout for Canadian banks in the region.
Sinckler told conference participants the recent financial crisis “has highlighted the importance of financial sector supervision in order to ensure financial stability and it has also shown the critical need for cross border collaboration on national financial sector policies.”
He suggested a number of improvements to the current regional regulatory framework, including an expanding memorandum of understanding among Caribbean pension regulators.
This was in addition to “active review of the current legislation, reviewing the process to update the legislation and the regulations to make it more responsive and timely, signing of MOUs across the borders in terms of information sharing and harmonising the regulatory framework across all countries, strengthening prudential rules and risk based supervisor practices, having early warning systems on key information and strengthening regional collaboration on regulation”. (SC)