Following the close of the 31st Caricom Heads of government meeting in Jamaica on the July 7, leaders will emerge on Antigua for the first ever joint EU-Cariforum conference on financial services. The conference is expected to tackle the financial stability in the Caribbean, which has been hit hard by the 2009 global economic crisis.
Leaders from Cariforum, the central banks of the Eastern Caribbean and Barbados, and the International Monetary Fund, among others are hoping that deliberations on Friday, July 9 and Saturday, July 10 will lead to better management of the industry.
The organisers are placing heavy emphasis on reforms and have included sessions such as Turning Regulation from Weakness to Strength.
Antigua & Barbuda’s record on financial regulation took a massive hit in 2009 when it came to light that R Allen Stanford, who is alleged to have operated a US $7 billion Ponzi scheme, was able to pay regulatory officials to keep from being discovered.
Participants at the conference also hope to find the right balance between strict regulation on one hand and freedom of the financial sector to operate and thrive on the other. Members of the private sectors of various countries will also take part to help determine that right balance.
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