Financial Regulation in the English-Speaking Caribbean: Is it Helping or Hindering Microfinance?

This paper presents the results of an investigation requested by the Multilateral Investment Fund of the Inter-American Development Bank under its Caribbean Microfinance Capacity Building project (CARIB-CAP) to strengthen microfinance in the English-speaking Caribbean. With the financial support of the Compete Caribbean program, this report seeks specifically to analyze the extent to which the regulation of financial entities in the region is supporting or inhibiting the development of microfinance in the region. Among the issues considered are the case for regulation, the differences between prudential and non-prudential regulation, the differences in regulatory arrangements among countries in the region, and especially the impact of these regulations on the availability of microfinancial services and on the different types of financial institutions that provide these services.