In the US, the decline in real estate prices contributed greatly to the difficulties in the banking system.
In Trinidad and Tobago, our banking system has maintained high mortgage approval standards, in part by restricting loan to value ratio between 75-80 percent (no subprime mortgages here) and has contained its exposure to falling real estate prices by limiting the share of these loans in its portfolio to 20 percent. What about our insurance companies…. What is the health of our insurance sector?