BOJ to Update Investment Framework for Non-Banking Financial Sector

Minister of Finance, Dr. Nigel Clarke has announced that the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) has retained the services of Mr. David Marston, a former Senior Advisor, Deputy Director and Chief Risk Officer of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to advise the BOJ on the non-banking financial sector.

Dr. Clarke made the announcement while speaking at the Caribbean Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (CARIAIFA) in Montego Bay on Sunday night (29 April). He said, Mr. Marston who is Jamaican, is currently a member of the Eminent Persons Group of the G-20 and is highly respected for his work advising central banks and governments around the world.

Minister Clarke observed that Mr. Marston’s retention comes at a crucial point as the BOJ’s 2017 Financial Stability Report highlighted that the non-banking financial sector is larger than the banking financial sector with assets nearing two trillion Jamaican dollars.

“We want to ensure that while macro-prudential stability is maintained, deepened and entrenched, the regulatory framework for the non-bank financial sector provides a foundation that allows for the deepening of financial inclusion and the acceleration of economic expansion,” the Finance Minister said.

Minister Clarke observed that with public debt now projected to fall below 100 percent of GDP by end March 2019, this creates real opportunities to accelerate efforts to convert and re-direct savings into investment, job creation and economic empowerment for all Jamaicans.

He said, in the near term, this will involve a focus on a revised investment framework for the non-bank financial sector while creating opportunities for improved access to credit and financial services to support business and entrepreneurial activity across the board, as envisaged in the National Financial Inclusion Strategy.

Minister Clarke stated that Mr. Marston, will support the BOJ in leading these initiatives with the expectation of “a consultative process that will lead to actionable policy, legislative and reform initiatives to accelerate and deepen the role of finance and institutional capital in supporting inclusive growth while maintaining financial sector stability, which, of course, is paramount.”