OTA SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHES OPERATIONS IN URUGUAY

UNCLAS MONTEVIDEO 000670 SIPDIS STATE PASS TREASURY FOR BILL LINDQUIST STATE PASS TREASURY OTA FOR CARL GAMBLE, JJ DESCHAMPS AND DEBRA VON KOCH E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EFIN EAID ECON UY SUBJECT: OTA SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHES OPERATIONS IN URUGUAY REF: MONTEVIDEO 519 -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. SUMMARY: Treasury's Office of Technical Assistance (OTA) recently launched a program in Uruguay, with the visit to date of five missions from its Banking, Debt Management and the Financial Crimes Teams. There are several additional missions planned by the Banking and Financial Crimes teams using FY 2009 funding, and all of the visits so far have generated potential programs for continued cooperation in 2010. Each of the visits and training sessions have been met with rave reviews by their local recipients. In turn, OTA experts were excited about the skills of Uruguayan professionals, their eagerness to learn, and the seriousness with which GOU institutions are applying this training in practice. Post would like to thank Treasury for its efforts and encourage continued engagement in FY 2010. END SUMMARY. -------------- -------------- BANKING - SAVINGS PROTECTION AND OPERATIONAL RISK -------------- -------------- ¶2. A team of four experts and two assistants from OTA's Banking Team, led by JJ Deschamps, was in Montevideo on October 13-22 to work with the Corporation of Bank Savings Protection (COPAB by its Spanish acronym) and the Central Bank's Superintendence of Financial Services. William Thomas, Jim Gomez and JJ Deschamps advised the newly independent COPAB (reftel) on bank resolution processes and on the development of an early alert system. In turn, George Hanc advised the Superintendence of Financial Services on managing operational risk with a view to incorporating Basel II recommendations. Superintendent of Financial Institutions Jorge Ottavianelli conveyed his satisfaction with OTA's assistance in a conversation with emboffs and expressed his desire to maximize the implementation of OTA training in practice. COPAB President Adela Hounie was similarly very happy with the assistance and told emboffs that it had met her expectations. She was particularly enthusiastic about the reference materials distributed by the mission and plans to request assistance to revise the manuals that COPAB will assemble during the first half of 2010. -------------- FINANCIAL CRIMES TEAM -------------- ¶3. On October 20-21 Mr. Joe Bognanno, OTA's Information Technology Specialist, visited the Central Bank's Financial Unit (UIAF) to review its information systems and software. Mr. Bognanno discussed the UIAF's needs with its Director, Daniel Espinosa, and explored ways to enhance the overall system by adding more robust analytical software and visualization tools. Espinosa valued the assistance and looks forward to continued cooperation. ¶4. On November 9-13, an Enforcement Team led by John Escoto delivered Financial Investigative Techniques training to a select group of twenty-five professionals from diverse backgrounds. The group included some of Uruguay's highest profile judges and prosecutors, along with officials from Uruguay's intelligence, customs and anti-drug agencies. The course was well received and the head of Uruguay's Anti-Money Laundering Secretariat, Ricardo Gil, has solicited continued assistance on a number of related topics. Uruguay has taken significant steps in recent years to impede financial crimes, and the OTA instructors singled out Uruguay????s anti-money laundering legislation for special praise. ¶5. From November 16-18, Dan Neau from OTA's Financial Enforcement Team delivered a three-day training course to Financial Analysts. Sixteen out of the eighteen UIAF analysts participated in the training. Mr. Neau's course was much appreciated and UIAF Director Espinosa has asked him about the possibility of giving an advanced edition of the course in 2010. -------------- -------------- DEBT TEAM - DEVELOPING A FOWARD MARKET FOR CURRENCIES -------------- -------------- ¶5. Also from November 16-18, a team of two experts from OTA's Debt Issuance and Management Team performed an initial assessment on developing a forward market for currencies. Barry Gray and Victor Bolles were invited by the General Manager of the Central Bank's Monetary Policy and Markets division, Alberto Grana. During their visit Gray and Bolles attended a day-long seminar on the development of a forward market and met officials from the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance as well as from the government-owned utility. Meetings focused on the current structure and operation of Uruguay's money market and debt capital market in order to identify potential technical assistance that might support the introduction of a forward currency market that would benefit both financial institutions and private companies. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶6. COMMENT: During their recent visits, OTA experts worked closely with the Anti-Money Laundering Secretariat, the COPAB and two of the Central Bank's three key offices. Post has received very positive feedback from local authorities regarding all OTA programs. The request from several local authorities for continuing work in 2010 and beyond reflects their positive evaluation of OTA's assistance. In turn, OTA's experts were excited about the technical skills of Uruguayan professionals and their interest and eagerness to learn. Post would like to thank OTA for its investment in Uruguay. MATTHEWMAN