Putting aside this issue for the time being, I would like to address the question, “What should be the main elements of a new regional financial stability infra-structure for the Caribbean region?” And, I would like to propose the following:   First – the region needs strengthened financial sector legislation, in the first round covering the banking system, the insurance and the credit union sectors;    Second – we need to substantially upgrade financial sector supervision;    Third – all countries should have deposit insurance;    Fourth – all countries should have national crisis management plans; and    Fifth – building on these national plans, we need to formulate a regional crisis management plan.
Permit me to say a few words about each of these elements. In many countries in the region, including my own, financial sector legislation is grossly deficient when compared to what obtains in advanced or emerging market countries. We, in Trinidad and Tobago, recently introduced a modern Financial Institutions Act to cover the banking system and new insurance legislation is currently in Parliament.