Jwala Rambarran, the Governor of the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago, recently tried to reassure the regulated community that its sensitive information was safe in his hands.

A press release read: "Information relating to all licensed financial institutions it supervises is subject to strict secrecy and confidentiality provisions in accordance with the Central Bank Act, Chapter 79:02. Our employees are also subject to these secrecy and confidentiality provisions. Recent media stories, on the conduct of the former board of a licensed financial institution, purporting to have originated from and attributed to Central Bank, are inaccurate."

Rambarran also said that his outfit did not release information about firms to the general public. Last year it did, however, sign an information-sharing memorandum of understanding with the local Securities and Exchange Commission and the financial intelligence unit.