Operational risk, payments, payment systems, and implementation of Basel II in Latin America : recent developments.

This is the English version of the annotaded presentation given at XI Encuentro Latinoamericano de Usuarios SWIFT (SWIFT users conference), ELUS 2006, “Creciendo en Competitividad”, Santiago de Chile, 3-5 July 2006. Given the importance of financial intermediation for the economy and the need to have a functioning infrastructure in order to allow for a speedy and safe transmission of information between all players, all states have created special entities that will supervise or oversee the proper functioning of institutions, systems and networks. The text explains first the standard-setting committees, the BCBS and the CPSS. It then highlights some recent developments in the region: the extraordinary increase in the volume and value of transactions over the last years has not only had positive aspects, but, from an operational point of view, is possibly also the source of more risk. This leads to some thoughts on operational risks and steps to mitigate, including "Basel II" and other documents from the Basel Committee that promote a better awareness and management of operational risk.