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This article, the final in a four-part series, looks back at some of the Central Bank of Barbados’ activities and initiatives in 2024. Read parts one, two, and three here.
In October, the Bank launched the second season of its video series “What It Means; Why It Matters,” in which Governor Dr. Kevin Greenidge plays the omnipresent Explainer, who appears just in time to demystify economic jargon to confused Barbadians.
Building on its first season, which introduced viewers to basic economic terms, the 13 episodes break down more complex concepts, including the balance of payments, traded versus non-traded sectors, economic forecasting, imported inflation, exchange controls, credit ratings, investment, Government securities, and the economic impact of tourism as well as topics related to the Bank’s secondary mandate of promoting financial stability, including market conduct, financial regulation and AML/CFT.
The series continues to receive positive feedback from the public.
In November, the Bank hosted the 63rd Bi-Annual CARICOM Central Bank Governors Meeting. Governor Greenidge, who assumed the chairmanship of the CARICOM Committee of Central Bank Governors at the start of 2024, led the two-day gathering, which included discussions about financial stability, cybersecurity, and the region’s economic performance.
With the meeting coinciding with the 55th Annual Monetary Studies Conference, four of the Governors – Central Bank of The Bahamas’ John Rolle, Central Bank of Belize’s Kareem Michael, Bank of Guyana’s Dr. Gobind Ganga, and Governor Greenidge – participated in a panel discussion entitled “The Role of Central Banks in Facilitating the Mobilisation of Regional Investment to Support Development” on its final day.
During their visit to Barbados, the Governors attended the 37th Adlith Brown Memorial Lecture, “Macroeconomic Management in an Era of Polycrises,” delivered by noted economist Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs, who offered a nine-point plan to help Caribbean economies thrive.
Dr. Luis Videgaray, Senior Lecturer at MIT’s Sloan School of Management and Director of MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Policy for the World Project, delivered the Bank’s 49th Sir Winston Scott Memorial Lecture on the topic “Global AI Policy and Regulation.”
Dr. Videgaray, who is also a former Minister of Finance and Minister of Foreign Affairs in his native Mexico, highlighted both the challenges in regulating this still evolving technology and the opportunities artificial intelligence (AI) affords developing countries, calling it “in many ways, a great equaliser,” before participating in a post-lecture discussion with Minister of Industry, Innovation, Science and Technology, the Honourable Marsha Caddle.
In October, the Bank announced that it had partnered with the World Bank on the Barbados Payments System Modernisation Project. The partnership followed several months of discussions and a review of the island’s legal and regulatory payments framework and evaluated the Real Time Payments (RTP) system. As part of the arrangement, the World Bank will provide technical assistance on a variety of matters related to the initiative.
Later that month, after Barbados took over the Presidency of the CVF/V20 Finance Ministers, Governor Greenidge was named Chair of the V20F Central Bank Governors Working Group. The V20 comprises 70-member states across Africa, Asia, the Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean and seeks to address the economic and financial impacts of climate change by advocating for climate finance, sustainable development, and economic resilience.