Lovell warns gov’t against unfair competition for domestic banks

Senate Minority Leader Harold Lovell has warned that allowing the offshore financial sector to lend money locally will create unfair competition for domestic banks.
Yesterday, the Senate passed the International Banking (Amendment) Bill 2017 giving the government of Antigua & Barbuda, statutory corporations and approved residents the ability to take loans from locally based offshore banks.
The senate minority leader said, “Once you include residents then it’s a free for all. The only restriction on residents and their ability is that they must be approved by the [Financial Services Regulatory Commission] and by the Ministry of Finance.”
Lovell told the government senators that by passing the Bill they were “placing pressure on domestic banks”.
 
(More in today’s Daily Observe)