News Releases

UWI Hosting Seminar on Threats to Regional Mortgage Market

For Release Upon Receipt - April 24, 2008

St. Augustine


High default rates on sub-prime and other adjustable rate mortgages made to higher-risk borrowers, are taking a toll on the US financial sector, but what are the possible ripple effects on the Caribbean? This is the question behind the 12th Annual Senior Policy Seminar hosted by the Caribbean Centre for Money & Finance (CCMF) at The University of the West Indies.

Regional and international financial experts will be speaking on “The Impact of the Sub-Prime Mortgage Crisis in the United States on Caribbean Financial Markets and Business Activity”. The event takes place on May 2nd, 2008, at the Hyatt Regency in Port of Spain and is an opportunity for decision-makers representing the business and public sectors from the Caribbean and around the world to exchange ideas on the challenges and expectations presented by the rapidly changing global financial market place.

Key speakers include Ms. Christina Daseking, Deputy Division Chief, Caribbean III Division of the International Monetary Fund, Mr. Eric Vincent-Guichard, Chief Investment Officer at GRAVITAS Capital Advisors, Ms. Ingrid Lashley, Chief Executive Officer of the Trinidad & Tobago Mortgage Finance Company Ltd., and Mr. Lyndon Guiseppi, Managing Director, RBTT Bank Ltd . Minister of Finance, The Honourable Karen Nunez-Tesheira has been invited to deliver the feature address.

Organisers hope the seminar will help to sensitise the region to the challenges faced by businesses and financial markets in the wake of the sub-prime crisis in the U.S. and that leaders in the financial sector as well as policy-makers will share and later adopt best practices in mortgage and investment management.

Among the topics listed for discussion are: “Rebalancing Investment Portfolios in Crisis”, “Housing Finance in the Global Financial Market”, “Managing Real Estate and Property Markets in Boom Conditions” and the question “A Bubble in the Housing Market?”

Registration costs US$350.00 and further information is available online at www.ccmsuwi.org or by contacting Ms. Kathleen Charles via email (kathleen.charles@sta.uwi.edu) or at (868) 645-1174/1610.

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