CBCS hosted a statistics symposium and round table 

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Reliable and timely statistics are fundamental for central bank policymaking

WILLEMSTAD / PHILIPSBURG – On April 25, 2023, the Centrale Bank van Curaçao en Sint  Maarten (CBCS) hosted a statistics symposium and round table titled Reliable and Timely  Statistics: Overcoming Common Data Quality Challenges. “Reliable and timely statistics are  at the heart of effective decision-making and are fundamental to several stages of modern  central bank policymaking”, stated CBCS’s Monetary Policy, Economics & Statistics Manager  Eric Matto in his opening remarks. “This applies to monetary policy, financial stability,  supervision, and payment systems—all mandates of the CBCS”, he added.  

The CBCS hosted the event in its endeavor to gather high-quality statistics to make well informed decisions regarding the macro economy and financial and payment systems. The CBCS also shares these statistics in aggregated form with local and international data users to support  their decision-making process. However, this cannot be achieved without the collaboration of all the data providers. “We thank you all for your continued commitment and dedication in  submitting reliable and timely data and for your trust and confidence in the CBCS’s statistics”,  stated Matto. 

The symposium consisted of four presentations. The first presentation titled From Data to  Analytics: Advances in Modern Era by Dr. Shekinah Dare and Ghyslaine Rollocks-Petrona of the  Data & Statistics Department discussed the importance of data in general and the benefits of data  for the communities of Curaçao and Sint Maarten. They explained how the balance of payments  statistics are compiled and how a transaction description for an online cross-border transfer has  an impact on the results of these statistics.  

The second presentation Statistics: The Lifeline for Economic Analysis & Research was delivered  by Candice Henriquez and Reggie Martes of the Economic Analysis & Research Department. They  elaborated on how statistics support their analyses on the financial and economic developments,  (empirical) research, and the monetary policy decision-making of the CBCS. They also  highlighted the importance of economic analyses to support monetary, fiscal, and economic  policies and, at the same time, to contribute to the information sharing, dialogue, and  consultation efforts of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.  

The following presentation Building Greater Resilience in the Financial Sector by Ryan Prince and Monique Thijn-Baank of the Macro-Prudential Policy & Financial Architecture Department 

explained how data provide insights into aspects such as credit growth for the banking sector,  the aggregated financial stability index, and banking soundness indicators. With fictitious data  they simulated a stress-testing scenario to illustrate how the CBCS monitors the performance of  banks under drastic adverse conditions.  

The final presentation, The Benefits of the Use of Data for Innovation and Further Developments  of our Payment Systems was delivered by Luzmary Silië-Eleonora of the Payments Department. She asserted different studies that have been carried out over the past years. Research on  financial inclusion showed that Curaçao and Sint Maarten have a considerably larger number of  credit cards in circulation compared to other countries in the Caribbean. This research also  disclosed that cash is the preferred payment method in both countries despite several digital  payment alternatives.  

In the afternoon, a select group of participants joined the round table to ask more in-depth questions and provide additional feedback.  

All the presentations are available on the CBCS website at https://www.centralbank.cw/publications/speeches-presentations