Oct 2009 Financial News

Regional securities regulators needed

Oct 23, 2009

INSPECTOR of Financial Institutions Carl Hiralal said yesterday a regional body of regulators could help deal with another CL Financial crisis especially when subsidiaries of a conglomerate operate across the Caribbean.

Speaking yesterday at the sixth annual conference of the Caribbean Group of Securities Regulators (CGSR) at the Hyatt Regency Trinidad, Wrightson Road Port-of-Spain, Hiralal said the most common problem for regulators was the inability to share information and this affects how fast regulators move to deal with a crisis.

“We must have confidence in each other’s ability to supervise and carry out regulatory duties,” Hiralal said. He noted that accepting a regulatory framework that will work across the region will take time but stressed that this was essential in today’s environment where there was cross border trading.

“Companies which operate cross border have both host and post regulators. The host regulator is where the institution is registered and where the head office is based, post regulators have a responsibility for cross border branches, subsidiaries and representative offices,” he said.

Hiralal explained that the college of regulators is intended to achieve group wide supervision for the ultimate purpose of facilitating consumer protection regardless of jurisdiction.

“It is intended to promote equity in the levels of consumer protection across different entities and jurisdictions across the groups,” he said.

On this, Hiralal said as companies spread their operations across the region there was need to stipulate what they can and cannot do.


Source:
Trinidad Newsday
Friday, October 23 2009

http://www.newsday.co.tt/business/0,109671.html