The expected deal between CLICO Holdings Barbados Limited and Insurance Corporation of Barbados Limited seems to have gone off the boil. Terse announcements from ICBL and CLICO suggest that both parties were not satisfied with the tenor of the negotiations. No sooner the announcement was made the Opposition Barbados Labour Party (BLP) reinstated its call for the regulators to take hold of the company.

BU in a previous blog has expressed our concern at the haste with which some parties in Barbados seem to want to dismantle CLICO Holdings Barbados Limited. This is despite the assurance by Prime Minister David Thompson that the government of Barbados will protect the policyholders and investors of CLICO Holdings, the Opposition Party led by Mia Mottley seems hell-bent on escalating the call for the liquidation of CLICO’s assets.

The question to be asked is why no similar concern expressed at the recent downgrade in A.M Best Rating of Sagicor? ALICO which is a subsidiary of AIG has not raised even a murmur. AIG we know is the US based holding company which has been deemed to large to fail and has been on life-support for over six months now.

Last week Barbadians learned of an initiative by a small group of Black businessmen to save CLICO. It is our understanding the group met at Solidarity House but up to the time of posting this blog we have not had any feedback on any outcomes. It is interesting that a Black group should be mentioned as piloting the initiative. The history of CLICO is rich, the stuff Sir Hilary Beckles should be proud. If our memory is sound, Sir Hilary sat on the CLICO board for a period in its history. CLICO is a company founded by Cyril Duprey a Black man in 1936, to cater to the needs of working-class Trinidadians. The company nearly 75 years latter employs thousands of employees across the Caribbean and further and can be called an international company in its own right. The failure of CL Financial would have a negative impact on economies across the Caribbean.

It is our belief that many of the actors in the CLICO Saga have allowed their egos to become inflated. Whether employees will have no work or investments will be flushed have taken second place to Chairman Leroy Parris’ relationship with Prime Minister Thompson. BU like many is uncomfortable with the role the Prime Minister has played to date in unravelling this mess given a perceived conflict of interest but it has not stopped us from rising above our opinion to see the bigger issue.

To support the point BU was surprised when  Rawdon Adams, the son of former Prime Minister Tom Adams weighed on this matter when it first broke. BU family member Adrian questioned the timing of Adam’s intervention given his political lineage. While we don’t agree or disagree with Adrian, one can legitimately question why did Adams feel the need to inject his comment at that time and not since. Another interesting observation is the revelation that Douglas Skeete, Intervenor and Head of Corporate Shareholders regarded up to now as an independent commentator has admitted his interest to replace the soon to be vacant BLP St. James North seat held by Rawle Eastmond. Things that make you go ummmmm.

Should CLICO Barbados Holdings Limited be deemed too BIG to fail?