Mr. Luigi Wewege, President of Caye International Bank (CIB) based in San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, has officially been awarded his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree, marking the culmination of a multi-year academic journey focused on strengthening financial stability across Central America. Dr. Wewege completed his doctoral research at the International School of Management in Paris, France, examining one of the region’s most critical and underexplored issues: retail banking crises in Central America.
His dissertation, Analyzing Retail Banking Crises in Central America: Causes, Consequences, Policy Responses, and Future Implications for Financial Stability in the Region, provides a comprehensive, evidence-based assessment of the causes of banking disruptions, their effects on economies and households, and the steps policymakers and financial institutions can take to reduce future risks. At a time when Central America continues to face structural vulnerabilities, including limited financial inclusion, concentrated banking systems, external shocks, and correspondent banking pressures, Dr. Wewege’s research offers timely, practical insights.
Throughout his study, Dr. Wewege incorporated econometric analysis, historical case studies, and interviews with senior policymakers, regulators, and financial executives across the region, combining academic rigor with real-world experience.
“This doctorate was not pursued as a purely academic exercise,” Dr. Wewege said. “It was driven by a clear objective—to produce research that can meaningfully improve how financial systems in Central America are regulated, managed, and future-proofed.”
Understanding the Roots of Banking Crises
Dr. Wewege’s research identifies recurring structural weaknesses that contribute to retail banking crises in Central America, including governance failures, regulatory gaps, excessive credit concentration, weak risk management frameworks, and delayed policy responses. The dissertation also highlights how these crises disproportionately affect everyday depositors, small businesses, and emerging middle-class communities—groups that rely heavily on stable retail banking systems.
His work compared crisis and non-crisis periods across multiple countries, offering a regional framework for understanding financial fragility. According to Dr. Wewege, this comparative approach allows policymakers to distinguish between country-specific failures and region-wide systemic risks.
Practical Policy Implications
A key feature of the doctorate is its applied focus. The research outlines policy recommendations to strengthen financial resilience, including improved prudential supervision, early-warning indicators, crisis-management coordination, and depositor-protection mechanisms. It also emphasizes the importance of transparency, institutional credibility, and regulatory independence in maintaining public confidence in banking systems.
Dr. Wewege’s thesis has also been accepted for publication as a full academic textbook by De Gruyter Brill, one of the world’s leading scholarly publishers. The forthcoming textbook will expand on the dissertation’s findings and make them accessible to policymakers, regulators, academics, and financial professionals globally.
“A stable banking system is not a luxury; it is a prerequisite for economic development, investment, and social mobility,” Dr. Wewege said. “If this research helps even one country avoid a future banking crisis, then the years of work invested in this doctorate will have been well worth it.”
Dr. Wewege serves on multiple international advisory boards and is a regular speaker and author in banking and financial services. His publications include The Digital Banking Revolution and Disruptions and Digital Banking Trends, published in The Journal of Applied Finance & Banking.
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