We know that borrowers with high levels of debt relative to their income or to the value of their house are more likely to face financial difficulties in challenging economic times. By focusing on lending standards, the mortgage measures help to guard against a credit-fuelled house price boom like the one we saw in the 2000s re-emerging in the future.
Caribbean policymakers, in their search for new sources of development finance, are rekindling their interest in venture capital to help spur innovation, create jobs and support economic growth. I say rekindling interest because the regional venture capital landscape is, at best, in an embryonic stage. In Caribbean economies, venture capital fundraising (as a percent of GDP) is negligible, or at zero.