est. 2007

Barbados Underground

Bringing News and Opinions to the People

,

Open Letter to Financial Institutions – What is the COVID-19 Plan?

  As the COVID-19 cripples world transportation, many areas will be severely affected…. these include Food, the opportunity to work & earn money, etc…… I would like our PM & her Government to engage the business sector/others and begin planning on methods to reduce the economic impact on the population: Banks, Credit Unions, etc. to…

,

 

As the COVID-19 cripples world transportation, many areas will be severely affected…. these include Food, the opportunity to work & earn money, etc…… I would like our PM & her Government to engage the business sector/others and begin planning on methods to reduce the economic impact on the population:

  1. Banks, Credit Unions, etc. to reduce/suspend for a period of time, Loans/Mortgages/etc. payments
  2. Credit Card companies to do similar
  3. Food Importers, Supermarkets, etc. to NOT increase prices

and other transactions/processes that ordinary people have to bear daily. We are not asking to ‘wipe-off’ these agreements ……. just suspend them until (we hope) the virus is under-control and the World begins to get back to normal.

ks, BU commenter

The comment quoted connected with an online article Caribbean Banking Association Says It Can’t Be Business as Usual as Coronavirus Spreads the blogmaster read yesterday. The impact COVID-19 is having on the world spans the gamut – Italy on lock down to other countries  at various stages of executing a containment strategy. Unfortunately it translates to the global economy projected to slip into a ‘recession’. This is not good news for Barbados given the current state of the local economy. There will be some more pain Barbadians have to endure bearing in mind it is a country already suffering from economic fatigue.

Why should the comment by ks be of interest to all of us?

We are observing local financial institutions mobilizing to protect the health of staff and customers. A good thing all agree. What we have not heard so far – is how financial institutions plan to react to rising unemployment because of the economic slowdown. Global commentators are ominously forecasting that this recession will be worse than 2008. How will financial institutions commit to foregoing revenue to support economies like Barbados about to crash and burn?

Many businesses in Barbados are experiencing a significant drop off in sales, especially in the hospitality sector. If Barbados has to move to stage 2 and 3 of the Covod-19 disaster plan the situation will get worse. The ‘haircut’ Barbadians had to suffer  would have been in vain. Barbadian households and businesses will default on loans. The government does not have a Stabilization Fund like Trinidad and Tobago or the capacity to print money for stimulus like the USA.  The greenback is still considered the world’s reserve currency.

The question for the financial institutions in Barbados is –  What is the plan? We are in this together right?

 

 

 

 

 

315 responses to “Open Letter to Financial Institutions – What is the COVID-19 Plan?”

  1. Mariposa Avatar
    Mariposa

    For your information most of the world is in great crisis
    However the bottom line comes down to great leadership
    Putting your country people health at risk to save a few dollars is not great leadership and does not correlate to making tough and hard decision
    But correlates to lambs being taken to slaughter
    Let that sink in

  2. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    shoulda woulda coulda. wussa dan anybody expected.

    All a we is one in a crisis.

    Stay 6ft / 2 metres away from other people. Stay home as much as possible. Try to eat healthy.

  3. Silly Woman Avatar
    Silly Woman

    @Tron March 22, 2020 6:58 PM “…at least a hundred thousand Barbadians will emigrate. Barbados will look like Guyana without the oil, of course.”

    But I’ve always thought that mass emigration of Bajans is exactly what you have been lobbying for, so that the rich can have more space, maybe all of the space in Barbados.

    What are you afraid of, that the rich won’t have enough people left to do the real-real work for $10 or less per day?

  4. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    ACTION!

    Massy Rendezvous placed markers in the check-out line to help create distance between customers.

    Management of Burger King continued measures to limit contact such as customers placing payment in a tray. They also spoke of increased cleaning and installing more hand sanitiser units.

    The Ministry of Transport, Works and Maintenance has embarked on a sanitisation programme targeting all bus terminals and buses, in accordance with the preferred guidelines of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Ministry of Health and Wellness in Barbados.

  5. Mariposa Avatar
    Mariposa

    Only ostriches with head buried in sand would not have expected such an outcome
    17 in one week and more quarantine
    Makes for wonder how many people these people were in contact
    Now some are asking that the talk must be tempered by patriotism
    Patriotism works both ways country best interest and the peoples best interest
    There comes a time when peoples best interest intercept the countries interest and it is at such time govt and people join hand in hand as a duty and right to support whatever steps necessary towards the betterment of the people
    Not after hell breaks looses and govt leans on the bowels of politics to protect their self-serving interest under the banner of patriotism
    No mariposa would not be standing shoulder to shoulder at that time with govt

  6. John A Avatar
    John A

    At this stage closing borders is a waste of time. We have no cruise ships and of this week no commercial flights. All that will do is cause hysteria among our people and lead possibly to crisis behaviour. Do you have any idea what a total shutdown will do to families who would be unable to buy groceries? Every taxi man, jet ski operator, beach vendor, hair braider along with others who got a pick from tourism, from next week will be jobless. If they are lucky enough to have a partner still employed somewhere else, do you want to take the income away from that sole breadwinner now too?

    There is a time for politics and there is a time for putting the state first. This is one of those times.

  7. Mariposa Avatar
    Mariposa

    How about putting the people first
    Doesn’t that much register in your thick head
    Btw Liat is still flying and all knows caricom nations have people who are infected
    Go ahead keep the borders open
    If 17 is not enough

  8. Tron Avatar
    Tron

    We must fight the radicals, Mariposa and the other former DLP ministers who are now creating panic and hysteria. Officially they support government policy, but behind the scenes they want to throw the country into chaos in the social media.

    We need a middle course. We can somehow live with Corona. Not without tourists. We’ll last six months, max. If the tourists don’t come back next winter, we’re dead. You have heard it yourself that Mariposa, as DLP spokeswoman on BU, wants to burn the currency stocks completely. In addition, Mariposa wants to lock out the tourists permanently. We will be left without foreign currency and without tourists. I wonder how many people will die because of the DLP’s lust for power.

    The people of Barbados now see the true face of the DLP behind the mask of nationalism. They don’t give a shit about the survival of the island. Many of them fled to Canada and the USA weeks ago. Who knows if Mariposa even writes from the Caribbean.

  9. David Avatar
    David

    The latest fly advisory posted by LIAT.

    https://www.liat.com/travel-advisory-on-travel-restrictions-22nd-march-2020

  10. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    PHYSICAL DISTANCING

    This means remaining in your house except for essential excursions, such as grocery shopping.

    Going for a run or walking your dog has not been barred, but while outside your home you are expected to maintain a distance of two metres or so between you and any other individuals on the street, to the best of your ability.

    https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/why-health-officials-say-physical-distancing-is-a-better-term-than-social-distancing-1.4863344

  11. Mariposa Avatar
    Mariposa

    Mariposa does not speak for anyone except herself
    You are one bold faced liar trying to use language that would paint the dlp as not being concerned about barbados economy
    The blp has created a firestorm out of a virus called Corona its the blp problem to solve
    The dlp is no longer in power
    When the dlp speak they speak as a party with a goal in mind to represent the country interest and peoples
    None of anything the dlp says have to do with Mariposa comments
    Tron your comments are tainted with malicious intent

  12. Tron Avatar
    Tron

    I stick to it: Mariposa as quasi-official representative of the DLP on BU wants to lock out all planes, even cargo planes with medicine and medical staff.

    Didn’t you say yourself that we should totally close our borders? You said so yourself at 9.20 PM.

  13. de pedantic Dribbler Avatar
    de pedantic Dribbler

    @John A, based on ur previous posts ur recent comments are a bit perplexing as read.

    I get ur intended perspective that basically we are past any simple shut down decision but based on the active and quickly progressing nature of this virus that and THE related actions are still important….

    You said that…

    At this stage closing borders is a waste of time.[…] All that will do is cause hysteria among our people and lead possibly to crisis behaviour.

    The other perspective is that to so act now brings direct and immediate focus to the gravity of the situation.

    In some jurisdictions and seeming in Bim too, there is a doubling in 24 hours of those affected/infected !

    We are now at 17 and soon to be 34 it seems. THAT frankly should be more of hysteria causing or crisis action motivator than a closure.

    Do you have any idea what a total shutdown will do to families who would be unable to buy groceries? Every taxi man, jet ski operator, beach vendor, hair braider along with others who got a pick from tourism, from next week will be jobless. If they are lucky enough to have a partner still employed somewhere else, do you want to take the income away from that sole breadwinner now too?

    Again senor take the other perspective…

    What happens when that taxi driver brings home the virus to an elderly mum or aunt or new born and causes their death!

    That’s a likely unplanned $10 – $15K expense one time!

    Additionally, and with all respect to my fellow Bimmers, but ANYONE caught napping, so to speak, without groceries and essentials for a 2 week hiatus is an absolute Jack***.

    The Bajan outposts in NY, London or San Diego have been reporting back home vigorously in recent days and every Bajan KNOWS it’s lock down time in those locales…. There is NO conceivable context any local should be caught unawares!

    All in all, Bim is on the cusp of their COVID explosion and I really do hope Ms Mottley’s gamble comes up roses…

    But…. That 17 number portends problems ahead…

    Better to start to flatten that curve NOW than waiting anymore later.

    This is a damn serious matter…

  14. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    The world will take years to recover from the coronavirus pandemic, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has warned.
    Angel Gurría, OECD secretary general, said the economic shock was already bigger than the financial crisis.
    He told the BBC it was “wishful thinking” to believe that countries would bounce back quickly.
    The OECD has called on governments to rip up spending rules to ensure speedy testing and treatment of the virus.
    Mr Gurría said a recent warning that a serious outbreak could halve global growth to 1.5% already looked too optimistic.
    While the number of job losses and company failures remains uncertain, Mr Gurría said countries would be dealing with the economic fallout “for years to come”.
    He said many of the world’s biggest economies would fall into recession in the coming months – defined as two consecutive quarters of economic decline.
    “Even if you don’t get a worldwide recession, you’re going to get either no growth or negative growth in many of the economies of the world, including some of the larger ones, and therefore you’re going to get not only low growth this year, but also it’s going to take longer to pick up in the in the future,” he added.
    Big shock
    Mr Gurría said the economic uncertainty created by the virus outbreak meant economies were already suffering a bigger shock than during the September 11 terror attacks or the 2008 financial crisis.
    He said: “And the reason is that we don’t know how much it’s going to take to fix the unemployment because we don’t know how many people are going to end up unemployed. We also don’t know how much it’s going to take to fix the hundreds of thousands of small and medium enterprises who are already suffering.”
    Governments around the world have taken unprecedented steps to support workers and businesses during the outbreak.
    Coronavirus: A visual guide to the economic impact
    What are shops doing about stockpiling?
    Coronavirus recession not yet a depression
    Policymakers in the UK have pledged to pay the wages of employees unable to work due to the coronavirus pandemic.
    Mr Gurría called on governments to rip up borrowing rules and “throw everything we got at it” to deal with the crisis.
    However, he warned that bigger deficits and larger debt piles would also weigh on heavily indebted countries for years to come.
    No quick recovery
    Mr Gurría said that just weeks ago, policymakers from the G20 club of rich nations believed the recovery would take a ‘V’ shape – with a short, sharp drop in economic activity followed swiftly by a rebound in growth.
    “It was already then mostly wishful thinking,” he said.
    “I do not agree with the idea of a ‘V’ shaped phenomenon … Right now we know it’s not going to be a ‘V’. It’s going to be more in the best of cases like a ‘U’ with a long trench in the bottom before it gets to the recovery period. We can avoid it looking like an ‘L’, if we take the right decisions today.”
    The OECD is calling for a four-pronged plan to deal with the outbreak, including free virus testing, better equipment for doctors and nurses, cash transfers to workers including the self-employed and tax payment holidays for businesses.
    Mr Gurría compared the level of ambition to the Marshall Plan – which helped to pay for the reconstruction of Europe after the Second World War. (Quote)

  15. Mariposa Avatar
    Mariposa

    Stop the presses
    Trindad denies 35 of their citizens entry coming from infected countries
    The story states that the 35 would land in Barbados Today
    Glory what a heroic act

Older Comments
1 … 5 6 7

The blogmaster invites you to join the discussion.

Trending

Discover more from Barbados Underground

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading