Over 150 bankers from Suriname, the Caribbean and North America will be in Guyana for the Annual General Meeting of the Caribbean Association of Indigenous Banks (CAIB), a statement from the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) said.
Bankers will also be coming from Miami and the Cayman Islands and are scheduled to examine issues ranging from anti-money laundering and new technology to counter terrorism financing at the meeting set for November 12-14.
CAIB comprises 50 banks and three honorary members, the Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and Caricom and the Caribbean Centre for Monetary Studies. The Banks have a combined asset base of US$17.5B the LOC said.
The meeting begins with a ceremonial opening at the Le Meridien Pegasus on the evening of November 12 where President Bharrat Jagdeo is expected to give the keynote address. Other speakers at the opening will include Caricom Secretary-General Dr Edwin Carrington, CAIB Chairman Michael Archibald and Central Bank Governor Lawrence Williams. Plenary sessions are slated for the Guyana International Conference Centre at Liliendaal from November 13-14.
John Tracey, Director of Credit at the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry and the LOC chairman, said this week that the meeting is of prime importance to the regional banking industry in the light of changes in the international financial environment in general. “The delegates will discuss issues such as anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing, the changing American landscape and its impact on the Caribbean financial services sector,” Tracey said.
This is the second time that Guyana is the host country for a major CAIB conference having been the venue for the 1998 annual general meeting.