Governor Cleviston Haynes delivered the Central Bank of Barbados’ review of Barbados economic performance in the first nine months of 2019 and took questions from members of the media.
Central Bank of Barbados Review of the Economy: January to September 2019
Governor Cleviston Haynes delivered the Central Bank of Barbados’ review of Barbados economic performance in the first nine months of 2019 and took questions from members of the media. September Press Release.pdf (3.98 MB)
138 responses to “Central Bank of Barbados Review of the Economy: January to September 2019”
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John A November 1, 2019 2:31 PM
“It was an opportunity for the opposition to shine and show their worth. Instead they crashed and burned miserably.”David
November 1, 2019 3:18 PM
“@Walter
Final comment on this matter on the back of Tuesday’s ‘debate’?”David,
I did not listen to Tuesday’s debate. I have read that the Minister of Finance asserted that Barbados will save $1 billion per year for the next 4 or 5 years and those savings alone justify the US$27 M to be paid to White Oak.If the opposition did not go on the attack to challenge the amount of savings, or force the Hon. Ryan Straughn to clearly show how these annual savings were arrived at, then I agree wholeheartedly with John A that the PdP “crashed and burned miserably.” I would also have to agree with PM Mottley that Joe Atherley is a poor alternative to her, and that he should be called “Eenie”.
On a serious note, given his claim that Barbados will be saving $1 billion annually for the next 4 or 5 years, Minister Ryan Straughn laid out a brilliant, irrefutable, and fantastic argument for the dreaded $1.50 daily tax to be removed from the water bills of Barbadians, and for the land tax to be abolished. Those two are just starters.
There are many more taxes that could be reduced or abolished completely as a result of these alleged huge savings. Truth be told, if I were allowed to make a tongue-in-cheek comment, I would say that these savings are more apparent than real.As a humourous aside, Piece Uh De Cock Yeah Tight has been trying extremely hard to parade and project himself on BU as a virtual modern day Nostra-dumb-ass.
How come he couldn’t foresee and predict “Joe Eenie” demonstrating his ignorance and impotence when it came to this debt restructuring exercise?
How come PdP members with obvious wisdom, ability, and talent (Bruce Hennis easily comes to mind) did not brief and educate “Opposition Joe” so that he could rise up and become a thorn in the flesh of the BLP during this debt restructuring debate?
A vibrant democracy demanded this type of confrontational response. Barbadians needed to see a “Smoking Joe”.The non-performance of the PdP on Tuesday forced me to remember a verse from “Vision of Belshazzar” written by George Gordon Byron:
Chaldea’s seers are good,
But here they have no skill;
And the unknown letters stood
Untold and awful still.
And Babel’s men of age
Are wise and deep in lore;
But now they were not sage
They saw – but knew not more.PS: I look into my crystal ball, and for 2023, I see Piece Uh De Cock coming out of Branckers Fontabelle with 18 toilet seats on his back, and a receipt in his hand.
LOL.
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@ Sargent, I would be equally uncomfortable with Russians taking over or setting up a bank in Barbados.
It would be disingenuous of you and others not to take into account the genuine threats presented by certain countries and nationalities.
Take a look at central and south America. These are regions with high numbers of wealthy individuals who have more power than the states in which they reside.
The thought of well-connected Colombian businessmen flying into Barbados and conducting business makes me uncomfortable.
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Walter i do not always agree with you but that joke above about the vision of Piece the jackass coming out of Branckers with 18 tiolet seats is a gem. Go to the top of the class my brother! that comment should be framed to throw in his face come 2023, love it!His feared leader eenie was a dismal failure during the debate .The message from Ms Mottley to the OPPURTUNIST EENIE was TO WIN SOME SEATS FIRST do not know from where as Dr Haynes could not do it.
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The real estate business is apparently a haven for crooks and money launderers. At least, that’s what I have been recently made to understand since November 2016. And so David, we are not yet in the clear.
And when speaking of the banking industry – ever heard of Deutche Bank?
How soon is the sale going through? Maybe I can now ignore the letter they sent harassing me for all sorts of documentation, including what they really want, which I know is the of source of income, just because I cleared off my credit card. It seems that I am not supposed to be in possession of five thousand dollars at any one time. Five thousand measly dollars!
Meanwhile the real big time money launderers continue merrily along.
I am not saying this billionaire is dirty but we now know that even golden boy “bringing the world together” Mark Zuckerberg is lacking in scruples and is both power and money hungry.
How many make billions with clean hands, I wonder.
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TSLN,
London is the preferred place for the Russians to launder their money apparently. But funny you should say that because I only recently heard about a plan for Russian oligarchs to set up a casino gambling strip on the Crane Main Road.
It caused my blood to chill.
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@TLNS
Watch how the moneylaundering works in regard to property: ordinary property on the so-called Gold Coast will cost ridiculous sums of money (always priced in US dollars), with lawyers and estate agents making lump sums, one way to get money out of the US or UK; or the reverse, properties in Barbados sold at knock down prices for tax purposes, while the balance is exchanged in New York or London.
Then there is the internal market and how it is used to shift money (ie a bank manager comes in from Colombia and the Bajan branch has to pay the Colombians her/his costs, which will be many times the real thing); or internal auditors coming in from Colombia and putting the cost X times on the Bajan books. Or inter-branch loans at exorbitant rates.
Of course, our regulators will either turn a blind eye to this behaviour or claim there is nothing wrong with it. -
Lorenzo
November 2, 2019 4:18 PM“Walter i do not always agree with you but that joke above about the vision of Piece the jackass coming out of Branckers with 18 tiolet seats is a gem. Go to the top of the class my brother! that comment should be framed to throw in his face come 2023, love it!”
Lorenzo,
I am just a little more independent-minded than you are, so I would expect us to see things differently at times. However, we are both Barbadians and that is a bond that should ultimately unite, rather than divide us. I am extremely delighted to know that the two of us can sit, laugh, and share a joke together, especially at Piece Uh De Cock’s expense.
I love it also.
We must do so more often, my brother. -
NorthernObserver
November 1, 2019 3:19 PM“If an entity imports, let’s say 500 cases of XXX, and then sends (exports) 100 cases to each of 2 related companies in say St.Lucia and St.Vincent, is the subsequent export of an imported good termed re-export? In other words, the export of anything which was not manufactured in B’dos.”
NorthernObserver,
I would say no. This is a case of gross imports- amounts transshipped = Net Imports. The word “Export” should not be mentioned in transactions like these, especially when there is no “value added” component involved.
According to US intelligence, a lot of drugs pass through Barbados. A portion stays here, and the rest moves on. If the amount transshipped were termed “exports”, Barbados would have an extremely favourable balance of trade position with the rest of the world! -
Thanks to Hal for having the patience to explain what I have learnt about money laundering since November 2016 when I started to pay attention.
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@Donna
Do a check and you will see the so called respected banks like Barclays, Standard Chartered, Deutsche Bank etc are routinely fined for money laundering. Some of the best businesses are located in South America, unfortunately we allow ourselves to be brainwashed that bona fide businesses exist only in Europe and the US.
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@ David, for a blog master you are incredibly naive. We are fully aware that western banks are not only corrupt but also major hypocrites. We have all heard of the Libor rates where banking interest rates were adjusted by fractions so that illegal profits could be made by merchant bankers.
We are also aware that London has its fair share of undesirable foreign mafia types who are using the city as their financial headquarters. The British government had turned a blind to their criminality because huge sums of money washed there way into the local economy.
As soon as events “got out of control” the government got involved. They have the power of the state to kick out these guys should the need arise.
This is a far cry with our debt ridden Barbados government who do not have the capacity to regulate mafia figures should they decide to set up base in Barbados. -
I hope that I am just wrong an I am not t being an alarmist, I am becoming fearful of what is in store for my fellow countrymen.
We must remember that this is our island and where our family lives. We must be careful of those who we do our business with.
Our Bounties and Lord Evil are nothing compared to the Russian mafia and Colombian drug cartels. We may believe that we have the strong arm of the law on our side, but these folks believe only in the law of the gun.
Remember Barbados is where your family lives and where these games may be played out. The Russian and Colombian families families will be well away from our war zone.
Now one must wonder if the recent upsurge in murders is related to new players on the island.
Let’s hope that I am just wrong.and imagining things.
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Believe what you will. A decision has been announced that CIBC sold its Caribbean operations to a Colombian billionaire. CIBC did not sell a Barbados bank, it sold it operations which included Barbados. We have to wait to see how the respective regulators in the CAribbean react to the requests for approval. Naive indeed!
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News reports of a Columbian billionaire buying up the assets of CIBC-FCIB apparently has some people seeing images of Pablo Escobar, I suppose if it had been bought by Carlos Slim (who happens to be one of the richest men in the world) and is Mexican they would be wondering about Mexican drug cartels. How about Nigerian billionaires? We know what those Nigerians can get up to but I digress- some of these people live in places where their neighbours think they fit the stereotype of whatever the latest incarnation of evil that black people fit into yet they think nothing of pigeonholing some individual who happens to be Columbian and is wealthy enough to buy a foreign owned Bank with some offices in Barbados.
If HSBC or Deutsche Bank had bought the assets no one would bat an eye and both of these financial giants have been fined or accused of money laundering. I believe that any Bank with substantial operations in Columbia will have to be like Caesar’s wife (above suspicion) in its functions because all eyes will be on them.
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@ Sargeant,
I was told that in the USA a lot of Commercial Banks are family owned.
This is a first for Barbados.
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Which one will be next ? Scotiabank or RBC
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We real worried about them and they ain t buy nothing yet, it’s a pity we wasn’t as concerned with the Trinis from Clico.
My point is with proper regulators and oversight who owns the bank is irrelevant, that is if we were capable of doing our job in policing these operations of course.
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How about Colombian reggaeton for Crop Over.
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@Hants
Our image of Banks has been shaped by the British and the Canadians with the concept of Branch banking with a principal Branch and several small branches reporting to it primarily owned by shareholders resident overseas. In Canada the Big five are mainly the result of mergers throughout the years. In the US the Bank in many towns were generally owned by the “richest” citizen generally titled as “The President” and who operated within that jurisdiction and didn’t join forces with Banks in other towns.
As to individuals owning banks, I believe in our hemisphere Jamaican/Canadian Michael Lee- Chin owns (or has a substantial number of shares) National Commercial Bank which he bought from the Jamaican Gov’t. When the Gov’t of Jamaica acquired Barclays Bank it changed the name to National Commercial Bank which was subsequently sold to the afore mentioned Lee-Chin, now CIBC which bought Barclays is about to sell to a Columbian….. do you see a pattern?
As the world turns……
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@Hants
this isn’t a family bank like was common in the USA. This person has spearheaded several large bank acquisitions and sales over the years. To date his focus has been on Columbia and Panama, now as we say “he is stepping out”.
The rumour mill was full last week with a “Canadian Bank having sold its Caribbean assets to a South American operation”. Since all 3 are “for sale”, nobody seemed to know which one was “in play”. -
This may be good for Barbados because a South American bank maybe less risk averse compared to the Canadian banks that have dominated our markets.
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@ Sargeant
@ NorthernObserver,
Thanks for your input.
Expect to see a name change that will not include ” CIBC “
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@ Donna
Thanks. By the way, Cyprus was (is) the favourite destination for the Russian oligarchs moving money out of the old Soviet empire. Read up on the banking crisis in Cyprus. In the UK the Soviets buy property.
In one instance, a house on the market for £7m, was bought by this woman from the former Soviet Union. She claimed she liked it so much she paid double the price. -
@Hants
The deal is not sealed yet. Hold your horses.
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@ TheOGazerts,
I share your skepticism. The entire Caribbean basin has become the epicentre for the transshipment of drugs.
The fallout from this trade has seen a surge in gun crime with an explosion in our homicide rates.
Equally pernicious is the normalisation of corruption.
Our politicians have been encouraged by outside “agencies” not to interrupt the drug’s trade. In return they have been rewarded handsomely. I believe that, recently, two prominent Barbadian businesses men where found to have a large amount of contreband on a boat owned by one of them.
We should be asking searching questions of this possible acquisition. Colombia is notorious for its association with the drug’s trade.
@ Donna, if the Russians are serious about opening a casino they will get their way. We all know that our politicians can never say no to money.
The consequences of this would be dire for our nation. Hal’s account is an accurate reflection of what we can expect as a nation given the trajectory that we have set ourselves.
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There is no suprise here a picture is worth a thousand words
The entire carribbean nations is now at the mercy of every kind of evil that would support its economies
Most of the small nations who were dependent on the largess of Capitalism offerings have been cut off because they cannot repay their debts
The drug dealers know that these are vulnerable soft spots and easy to ply their trade
Barbados is now caught up in the juggernaut of paying their masters and helping their people
No man can serve two masters
Barbadians are fully aware which master govt must first serve and barbadians will do all they must to survive by any means necessary
Govt also knows what is happening and see the writting on the wall and helpless to do any thing -
Here it is some of you are doing what you do best. We have Canadian banks that want to hightail out of the Caribbean, until they find buyers they are jacking up fees and lending for consumer items. The Trinis are trying, what are Barbadian business enterprises doing to fill the void? Instead we moan about a rich Colombian who from all reports is a legit businessman.
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@ the Honourable Blogmaster
Your assistance please with an item here for Walter Blackman who, in the midst of all this Central Bank pretty jargon on a failing economy zoomed in on the Weak Rebuttal of the Leader of the Opposition Joseph Atherley
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DavidNovember 2, 2019 7:16 PM
@Donna
Do a check and you will see the so called respected banks like Barclays, Standard Chartered, Deutsche Bank etc are routinely fined for money laundering. Some of the best businesses are located in South America, unfortunately we allow ourselves to be brainwashed that bona fide businesses exist only in Europe and the US.
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I don’t understand your comment. When I mentioned Deuche Bank it was precisely because of the money laundering.
I don’t know how after reading ANY OF MY COMMENTS ON BU you would think I am susceptible to brainwashing of ANY kind.
What ‘bone fide’ businesses what! Unscrupulousness is the order of the day in Europe and elsewhere!
So you need to do a check OF MY POSTS EVEN ON THIS PARTICULAR BLOG.
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It was a general comment.
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This is getting boring. Walter, you did make a questionable comment about the gyrating school girls having talents that maybe should be developed. Why not explain what you meant if you can?
I tire of this daily vitriol. A lot more that is tiresome here but that is the most important thing.
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Barbadians have every right to moan and be suspicious of those one armed bandits bearing gifts
These countries are bring scruntized and are being held under the watchful eyes of American national Security agencies
The truth of what happens here was explicitly defined by Trump when he called them sh.it holes
Words with loud and bold effect saying he does not Trust their govts or their people and these countries are held to a different standard of rules and guidlines
If we continue to lie with people or do business with people of questionable character we will catch their fleas
This deal might sound go on the surface but in as much as we live in a global community putting our feet in cloudy water is a challenged first worth thinking about hard and long -
You know that the billionaire mentioned is if questionable character how?
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Money always have the last word
Don’t mind me that is why i poor as shi te
Things that billionaires can do i cant do
Ask Trump when he explain himself clearly by saying that only poor people pay taxes
People like me might not be billionaires but we can decipher truth from fanciful and grand illusions built around smoked mirrors -
@ David,
I spent an hour googling Gillinski Group. They own a few Banks and buy and sell banks and other businesses.
Those of you who bank with CIBCFCIB should want to know a little bit about the new owners who will be taking care of your savings.
Whether they are ” good for Barbados ” is left to be seen.
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@Hants
A Canadian like you are if the view CIBC would sell piece of their operations to. Drug dealer?
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@ David.
Money and clothes got one thing in common. If you know how to wash them the dirtiest come out clean in the end..
Miami for instance was built in the 70s and 80s on laundered money.
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The big global banks are not routinely fined for money laundering, that is incorrect. They are usually fined for not having systems in place to prevent money laundering, a regulatory issue ie know your customer.
Further, they are usually fined in the US by the multitude of regulators they have, including our favourite US/Bajan, the former US attorney general under Obama.
It is all political; the Americans imposed stringent fines on European banks. It has been written about on numerous occasions. -
Hal,
It is good to be specific. They are fined for not having systems in place. I wonder why they don’t have systems in place.
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Second and final link:
https://trilateral-it.com/every-top-10-bank-fined-as-150-billion-laundered-annually/
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@ Donna at10 :34 AM
There is always a race between regulatory bodies and those who want to outwit the regulators. As soon as one hole is plugged, lawyers and other professionals look for and find a new loop hole.
Regulators and other law enforcement institutions, for the most part trail behind the evaders.
Systems have to be constantly replaced. -
My last note:
My cautionary note was not intended to be xenophobic, stereotypical or anti-anyone. I was just issuing words of caution.
One smart may believe that having the local police at his beck and call and having alliances with known local drug dealers, then he/she can handle any evil that surfaces. I believe our local evil and our police are not a match for the evil that exist in other places.
I am urging one-smart that before he engages two smart to realize that if there is a situation, the battle ground will be at one smart’s home where his family are living.
I am only asking that we exercise caution in our business affairs. There may be no putting the genie back in the bottle.
I note for some, the attitude is “any port in a storm” as they seek to replace banks from Canada. I hope our regulatory authorities ignore the fast and easy checks and try to scrutinize who they are dealing business with and who will be coming to the island.
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The banks from Canada are selling out donât you get it?
What replacing what!
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@ Donna
It is expensive and once you close one loop hole, another opens.
@ Vincent
The real issue is what is called regulatory capture : regulators are relatively poorly paid public servants; they are offered massive salaries to join the private sector, and often the person replacing them as regulators were junior to them and they know more about the job than the replacement.
We used to run a list of former regulators and who they now work for and how much they are earning. Working for the regulator is a good career move for lawyers. -
Also comes to mind the story of Allen Stanford the biliionaire
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Thank you, Vincent and Hal, I have heard that before and it does make some sense. But you know what systems they do have in place put hurdles in place for the average person. Here it is that I have to waste time, energy and money to make a trip to account for five thousand dollars while the big boys launder billions.
Policing for the average person as usual.
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@ David who wrote ” A Canadian like you are if the view CIBC would sell piece of their operations to. Drug dealer?
No way they would do that David and there is nothing to suggest that the Gillinski Group is in any way associated with Drug dealing.
Don’t try any ” entrapment shiite ” with me. I don’t usually write what I really believe and will sanitise what I write. lol
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Stanford’s story is interesting indicates how Caribbean governments can be easily duped by unscrupulous individuals such as him.
In 1985, Stanford opened the Guardian International Bank in Montserrat at which unsuspecting customer were lured to deposit money as part of his ponzi scheme.
With Montserrat being approximately 53.96 km or 33.53 miles from Antigua, I believe it was impossible for Antiguans not to hear about the investigation into Standford’s Montserrat’s bank and his subsequent expulsion from the island.
Yet the Antiguan government allowed him “to set up shop” there.
Greed of politicians?
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Let us for purpose of discussion say they were laundering money. If they were allowed to come here and set up shop who should we blame, them or our regulators?
My point is that it is the responsibility of the state and relevant authorities to filter the good from the bad, when it comes to deciding who enters here to do business. They also need to ensure that even after they come, annual returns and oversight exist going forward.
Now back to our real world where we have state owned entities who have not files financials for 6 years, what chance do we honeslty have in offering oversight to an international banking sector?
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