Bermuda Monetary Authority hosted the Financial Stability Board’s (FSB) Regional Consultative Group of the Americas’ (RCGA) Shadow Banking Workshop.

The workshop took place at the Hamilton Princess last week.

Marcelo Ramella, deputy director of financial stability at the BMA, said: “The workshop provided a concrete contribution to efforts by the international financial regulatory community to better understand risks in the shadow banking sector, which in turn helps policy developments aimed at addressing these risks.

“As a major international financial centre, Bermuda remains committed to continuing its active role in global efforts to strengthen the international financial regulatory architecture. This FSB workshop is an important step in this direction.”

FSB, an international body monitoring and making recommendations about the global financial system, defines shadow banking as “credit intermediation involving entities (fully or partially) outside the regular banking system”.

Monitoring the size and structure of the shadow banking system, and its connections with other areas of the financial system, is important in order to measure and assess the underlying risks and, where needed, take measures to address them.

The workshop reviewed shadow banking risks to financial stability within the region, and exchanged ideas to gain a better understanding of the scope and structure surrounding shadow banking.

It also identified specific characteristics in RCGA jurisdictions.

FSB’s RCGA jurisdiction members include financial authorities from Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Bolivia, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and the US.