Prime Minister Gaston Browne is seeking to project confidence in the performance of the country’s banking sector following a meeting with industry executives on Tuesday.
Browne, during his regular quarterly meetings to review the performance of banks, particularly indigenous banks, to assess their capital adequacy and level of delinquency, said all key indicators have been trending in a positive direction.
“I have to tell you that all our banks are sound … they exceed the minimum capital requirements, and they are also among the strongest in the entire sub-region,” he said.
“We have seen credit growth within the banking sector, which is a good sign because there have been years of stagnating credit, even declining credit.
“The fact now that we see an increase in credit means that the contribution of locals to the growth and development of our country is increasing and we have asked the banks to keep a steady hand and to promote policies to encourage increased credit growth.”
Browne claimed that the country was doing well economically, pointing to a reported increase in savings of over EC$100 million annually.
“We have indicated to them that perhaps the current state of our infrastructure does not quite reflect the level of growth, but this year we’ll be placing increased emphasis on improving the physical infrastructure,” he said.
The Prime Minister’s positive outlook mirrors similar statements made last year by the Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), Timothy Antoine, when he commented on the potential for mutual funds in the country.
Last June, Antoine revealed that Antiguans and Barbudans had over EC$2 billion in the banking system in terms of deposits.
The projection of confidence in the sector comes amidst questions surrounding Global Bank of Commerce, the Financial Services Regulatory Commission which has oversight over Global, and the labour dispute at ECAB a week ago.
In February, a High Court judge decided that an oral examination would prolong the legal proceedings between Canadian businessman Jack Stroll and Global Bank over the institution’s financial stability, as Stroll fights on to withdraw millions of dollars of his money.
The judge ordered Stroll’s representatives to submit their questions to Brian Stuart-Young, the bank’s CEO, for which they should receive answers within two weeks after March 1.
Meanwhile, the Labour Commissioner is reportedly addressing an industrial matter among ECAB’s staff.
