Today, IMF Deputy Managing Director Tao Zhang addressed a Caribbean Finance Conference being hosted in Antigua. The IMF representative pointed to the linkages between financial services and tourism, and other sectors, acknowledging the importance of the key agenda item for the 2-day forum – and the need for a collective solution to a collective problem.
He addressed three themes relating to the focus on the Withdrawal of Correspondent Banking Relationships: The scope and sources of the problem; Taking stock of the policy response in the Caribbean region and from the international community; and Issues that need to be addressed going forward.
He concluded his presentation by outlining what the IMF considers “next steps”. "We know by now what the problems are. We also know that while there is 'no quick fix' to the problem, there is an urgent need for action to mitigate the impact on affected economies." Three areas to be explored further in the immediate steps towards concrete action were identified as:
- addressing the problem of economies of scale;
- mitigating cost and technical limitations;
- improving information flows.
Click here for the full presentation.