The Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) yesterday expressed support for Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke’s decision to obtain the services of David “Billy” Marston to help update the investment framework for the non-bank financial sector.

According to the PSOJ, Marston’s involvement in the process of bringing much-needed reform and restructuring to the highly valuable non-bank financial sector can only benefit Jamaica’s development and progress.

Clarke announced Marston’s appointment on the weekend, saying that the Government wanted “to ensure that while macro-prudential stability is maintained, deepened, and entrenched, the regulatory framework for the non-bank financial sector provides a foundation that allows for the deepening of financial inclusion and the acceleration of economic expansion”.

Marston, a former senior advisor, deputy director, and chief risk officer of the International Monetary Fund, is currently a member of the Eminent Persons Group of the G-20 and is highly respected for his work advising central banks and governments around the world.

Yesterday, the PSOJ said that it was ready to work with Marston and described his appointment as “timely and appropriate” as the country seeks to encourage economic growth and stability.

Marston worked at the Bank of Jamaica as a senior director before going to the IMF in 1992. He served first in the Monetary and Capital Markets Department as assistant director before moving to the Strategy Policy and Review Department as deputy director.