As I look across at this august gathering of securities regulators from North, Central and South America, the Caribbean and even from Europe, I am reminded of the prescient words of former U.S. President John F. Kennedy at his address to the Canadian Parliament in May 1961, “Geography has made us neighbours. History has made us friends.
Economics has made us partners, and necessity has made us allies.” The global economic crisis, which is now in its fifth year, has certainly made us partners. Countries cannot successfully regulate their financial markets in isolation. Going it alone is no longer a viable option. Closer international partnership between regulators has never been so important – and yet so challenging.