Latin American Capital Markets

476 CATHERINE CHANDLER-CRICHLOWcoordinates, develops, and implements professional training and development programs.Conversely, in the developed countries, there appears to be a balance in theinvestments made for physical infrastructure and human capital developmentSecond, for Latin America and the Caribbean as well as the developed countries,the regulatory agencies with oversight responsibilities for the capital marketshave a diversity of institutional structures. Some are independent autonomous agencies;others are combined insurance and capital markets. These institutional modelsbring differences in terms of levels of autonomy, industry stakeholders, as well as budgetsfor developing regulatory staff. With their roles in creating sound, stable marketsas well as protecting the rights of investors, it is imperative that regulators be providedwith the skills, knowledge, and leadership competencies to stay one pace aheadof developments in the markets. It should be noted that in some locations, the regulatoryagency plays a pivotal role in investor education.Third, the data show that while the developed countries have strong sectorgovernance in the form of professional and training associations, there is a paucity ofthese frameworks in Latin America and the Caribbean.The Ibero-American Associationof Stock Exchanges provides a systematic approach to understanding the needsof professionals in the stock exchanges in Latin America. Regulators in the region aremembers of the Council of Securities Regulators of the Americas (COSRA), whichhas a mandate for stimulating regional dialogue on issues critical to regulators.The associationsprovide mechanisms for conducting research and dialogue among theirmembers through conferences and ongoing communication. This facilitates informationsharing among professionals in the region and an ability to discuss the impact ofissues such as globalization, advances in technology, and the increasing complexity offinancial products and services on local markets. Howeven neither of these associationshas the breadth or depth of training programs to provide sustained upgradingof the professionals who are their members.There is no single entity dedicated to the creation of education, training, or developmentprograms for the region. For instance, COSRA does not have the budgetaryor institutional capacity to develop, deliver; and maintain training and educationprograms for regional regulators; instead it forms strategic alliances to bring trainingprograms to its members. For example, in June 2002, 15 leaders in capital markets regulationparticipated in a leadership program hosted in Toronto, Canada. This initiativewas the result of a partnership among COSRA, the Inter-American DevelopmentBank, and theToronto International Leadership Centre for Financial Sector Supervision.Some might argue that it would be more meaningful to compare Latin Americaand the Caribbean with another geographic area that has an equal diversity in sophisticationof financial markets and history of human capital development than toCopyright © by the Inter-American Development Bank. All rights reserved.For more information visit our website: www.iadb.org/pub