THE WORLD BANK AND U.K. DEPARTMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (DFID) SECOND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON MIGRANT REMITTANCES: REMITTANCES AND ACCESS TO FINANCE Tentative Agenda NOVEMBER 13-14, 2006 LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM COUNTY HALL Tentative_Agenda_v5.0 Updated on October 10, 2006-1 -
November 13, 2006, Morning 08:00 09:00 Registration and Breakfast Session I: Welcome and Opening Remarks 9:00 9:30 Mr. Michael Klein, Vice President Financial and Private Sector Development, World Bank and Chief Economist, IFC Mr. Mark Lowcock, Director General Policy, Department for International Development United Kingdom THEME 1: LEVERAGING ON GLOBAL AND REGIONAL REMITTANCE TRENDS Session II: Key International Developments since the First Global Conference in 2003 9:30 10:45 Moderated by: Ms. Marilou Uy, Senior Adviser Finance and Private Sector Development, World Bank With US$ 230 billion in 2005, remittances have become the largest financial flows to developing countries. This session will analyze key international developments on remittances since the first global conference in 2003. Building on the World Bank Global Economic Prospects 2006, this session will highlight key characteristics of remittance flows, explain the underlying reasons for the recent surge, and discuss the implications to policy-makers and the private sector. The session will discuss the sustainability of remittance flows and their contribution to poverty alleviation, analyze changes in the global remittance marketplace, and outline the major challenges that lay ahead. 9.30 9.45 Remittances and Migration Mr. Dilip Ratha, Senior Economist, World Bank 9.45 10:00 The Remittance Marketplace: Fees, Competition, and Technological Developments Mr. Manuel Orozco, The Inter-American Dialogue 10.00 10.15 Key Developments since the 2003 conference Mr. Douglas Pearce, Head Financial Sector Team, DFID, United Kingdom - 2 -
10.15 10.30 New International Framework for Measuring and Improving the Data on Remittance Flows 10.30 10.45 Questions and Answers 10.45 11.00 Coffee Break UN / IMF / World Bank Task Force on Remittances Session III: Regional and South-to-South Remittance Corridors 11:00 12:30 Moderated by: Mr. William Kingsmill, DFID This session will present the key findings from recent studies on remittances prepared by the World Bank and DFID under its remittance country partnerships. A special emphasis will be given to discuss the challenges faced in South-to-South remittance corridors. The purpose of the discussion will be to share regional experiences for maximizing the developmental impact of remittances and channeling their flows through regulated financial systems. 11:00 11:15 Policy Challenges in Sending and Recipient Countries: Findings of Bilateral Corridor Analyses in Europe, Asia and Latin America Ms. Latifah Osman Merican, Program Director, Financial Market Integrity, Financial and Private Sector Development, World Bank 11.15 11:30 Intra-regional Remittances and Gender Issues in Sub-Saharan Africa Mr. Hennie Bester, Genesis Analytics 11:30 11:45 South to South Remittance Corridors Mr. H.E. Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile, Governor Bank of Uganda 11:45 12:00 Access to finance in the Middle East and North Africa: Can remittances deliver? Ms. Valerie Herzberg, Economist, Development Economic Advisory Service, European Investment Bank 12:00 12:40 Questions & Answers, Panel Discussion 12:40 14:00 Lunch Keynote Speaker: Mr. Donald Terry, Manager Multilateral Investment Fund, Inter-American Development Bank - 3 -
November 13, 2006, Afternoon THEME 2: BALANCING REGULATIONS AND ACCESS TO FINANCE Session IV: The General Principles for International Remittance Services 14:00 15.10 Moderated by: Mr. Massimo Cirasino, World Bank Following a request from the G-7 and the international community, an international task force led by the BIS and the World Bank formulated a set of general principles designed to assist countries to improve the market for remittance services. This session will provide a forum to discuss the principles, which cover transparency and consumer protection, payment system infrastructure, legal and regulatory framework, market structure and competition, governance and risk management and highlight the roles of authorities and the private sector in their application. 14:00 14:.20 Mr. Marc Hollanders Bank for International Settlements 14.20 14.40 Central Bank of Turkey 14.40 15:10 Questions and Answers 15.10 15:30 Break - 4 -
Session V: Striking the Balance between Regulation and Access to Finance 15.30 17:00 Moderated by: Mr. Seymour Fortescue UK Remittances Task Force Financial institutions are encouraged to comply with international standards to prevent money laundering and combat of terrorism financing. However, often the application of those standards may negatively affect the availability of remittance transfer services, as banks become reluctant to deal with small money transfer companies. This session will analyze the trade-offs between regulatory compliance and availability of financial services, and discuss a balanced approach to regulation of remittance service providers. 15:30 15:45 Regulation and Supervision of Remittance Service Providers: Overview of Key International Standards Ms. Maud Bökkerink, Financial Sector Expert International Monetary Fund 15:45 16:00 How have remittance services providers been affected by AML/CFT regulations? A Private Sector Perspective Mr. David Landsman, Executive Director National Money Transmitters Association (USA) 16:00 17:30 Panel on Balancing AML/CFT Regulations and Access to Finance: Views from Developing Countries Ms. María Concepción Patiño, Head Financial Intelligence Unit of Mexico Mr. Clive Maxwell United Kingdom HM Treasury Mr. Hennie Bester Genesis Analytics November 13, 2006, Evening 19:30 21:30 Cocktail & Dinner Reception - 5 -
November 14, 2006, Morning THEME 3: BUILDING INCLUSIVE FINANCIAL SYSTEMS Session VI: Innovative Financial Products for the Poor Leveraging Remittance Flows 8:30 10:15 Moderated by: Mr. Jose de Luna Martinez Senior Financial Sector Specialist Financial and Private Sector Development, World Bank This session will analyze a set of innovative financial products that, while building on migrant remittances, increase access to finance for poor people in developing countries. The session will also discuss what could be done to increase the availability of such products in more countries. 8:30 8:45 Innovative Use of Technology and Alliances in Remittances to Improve Access to Financial Services Mr. Manish Misra, Joint General Manager & Head - Global Remittances ICICI Bank India 8:45 9:00 Leveraging Remittances for Housing Finance Mr. Carlos Serrano, Director General Federal Housing Bank of Mexico 9:00 9:15 Banking the Unbanked: Innovations in Remittance Based Financial Services Mr. Jack Jared, Managing Director EMEA Cash Management Sales Head, Financial Institutions & Public Sector, Citigroup 9:15 9.40 Remittances and other financial products Mr. Santiago Ribadeneira, President Banco Solidario, Ecuador 9:40 10:15 Questions & Answers, Discussion 10:15 10:30 Break - 6 -
Session VII: Technology Solutions in Remittances and Inclusive Finance 10:30 12:00 Moderated by: Ms. Marilou Uy Senior Adviser, Financial and Private Sector Development, World Bank Despite the availability of advanced technology, cross-border transfers still involve high fees and considerable amount of time in many remittance corridors. This session presents innovative payment system, credit card and other solutions that have successfully affected migrants choices in shifting to formal channels and contributed to development of inclusive financial systems in several countries. 10.30 10.45 Innovations in Cross-Border Payment System Solutions MasterCard International 10:45 11:00 Card-Based Products for Remittances Ms. Margaret Reid, Senior Vice President Visa International Platform Development and Management 11:00 11:15 Cellular Phone Technology for Efficient Low-Cost Remittance Transfers Mr. Danilo J. Mojica, Smart Financial Services SMART Communications. Inc., The Philippines 11:15 12:00 Questions & Answers, Discussion 12:00 13:30 Lunch - 7 -
Session VIII: Leveraging Existing Infrastructure to Build Inclusive Financial Systems 13:30 15:00 Moderated by: Mr. Raul Hernandez-Coss Financial Sector Specialist, Financial and Private Sector Development, Financial Market Integrity, World Bank Can remittances become a gateway to a broader agenda in financial sector development? A number of countries launched initiatives that look beyond remittances in building inclusive financial systems. This session will explore how existing financial infrastructure, competitive strengths and remittancebased operations of selected market players have contributed to improved access to finance. 13:30 13:45 The Role of Postal Services in Channeling Remittances and Promoting Access to Finance Mr. Abdelilah Bousseta, Universal Postal Union 13:45 14:00 Microfinance Institutions in the Global Remittance Market and Inclusive Finance Ms. Jennifer Isern, Lead Private Sector Development Specialist The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) 14:00 14:15 Remittances and Financial Services for the Poor: Innovations in Financial Infrastructure in Developing Countries Mr. David Porteous, Founder and Principal Bankable Frontier Associates LLC 14:15 15:00 Questions & Answers, Discussion 15:00 15:15 Break - 8 -
November 14, 2006, Afternoon Session IX: Forging Robust Public-Private Partnerships 15:15 16:30 Moderated by: Mr. Donald Terry, Manager Multilateral Investment Fund, Inter-American Development Bank Building inclusive financial systems involves the participation of robust partnerships where both, the public and the private sector play a vital role in maximizing the impact of remittances and improving access to finance. This session will present examples of innovative partnerships, their purpose, incentive structure, challenges and lessons learnt that may be applied in other countries and remittance corridors in the world. 15:15 15:30 Effective Country Partnerships to Increase Access to Financial Services for the Migrant Population: The Case of the USA and Mexico Mr. Carlos Manuel Sada Solana/ Consul of Mexico in Chicago 15:30 15:45 The UK Remittances Task Force Mr. Leon Isaacs, Travelex / UK Remittances Task Force 15:45 16:00 The SendMoneyHome Initiative Mr. Atam Sandhu, Profile Business Intelligence 16:00 16:30 Questions & Answers, Discussion Session X: Conference Wrap-Up and Closing Remarks 16.30 17:00 Closing Remarks Ms. Marilou Uy, Senior Adviser Finance and Private Sector Development, World Bank Mr. Gareth Thomas Parliamentary Under Secretary of State United Kingdom - 9 -