Central Bank 2021 Half Year Review – Hard Road to Recovery

The Governor of the Central Bank reported two consecutive quarters of growth although it must be stated Barbados economy performed below pre COVID 19 GDP levels – 3.2% to be exact. There was an increase in activity in the tourism sector even as COVID 19 continues to run rampant in the country. The thousands of workers serving the hospitality industry must be happy. The cold reality however is that the economy shrunk 18% in 2020 therefore any mention of the word GROWTH in 2021 must be translated in context.

There is a long, hard road to travel.

117 thoughts on “Central Bank 2021 Half Year Review – Hard Road to Recovery


  1. Gov. cautious despite growth
    THE RETURN OF thousands of tourists to Barbados and a rebound in private spending have combined to grow the economy for the second consecutive quarter.
    However, Central Bank Governor Cleviston Haynes, while expressing optimism after the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) followed the second quarter’s 5.5 per cent expansion with ten per cent growth in the three-month period ended September 30, is remaining cautious.
    The veteran economist is encouraged by the positive implications of the tourism rebound, but is concerned about rising prices, especially for oil, and the uncertainty posed by the rapid spread of COVID-19’s Delta variant at home and abroad.
    As a result, the Central Bank has reduced its 2021 growth forecast to between one per cent and two per cent, but it expects GDP to expand by between seven per cent and nine per cent in 2022.
    Haynes said during his third-quarter press conference yesterday that the higher economic returns between July and September reflected “the combined effects of an expansion in private spending and the strengthening of the recovery in the tourism sector”, but he added that “for the first nine months of the year economic activity is estimated to have been approximately 3.2 per cent below the corresponding period one year ago.
    “Arrivals remained below pre-pandemic levels, but registered their strongest quarterly out-turn since the onset of COVID-19, as longstay arrivals reached 43 019 visitors compared to only 13 247 during the similar period in 2020,” he said.
    “The length of stay of tourists during the quarter was above pre-pandemic levels but, given the sharp weakening of activity in the first quarter of the year, tourism output was lower by 65 per cent for the first nine months of the year relative to 2020.
    “Arrivals from the United Kingdom and United States markets combined to account for 78 per cent of overall visitors during the third quarter of the year.”
    While tourism was a positive, Haynes was concerned about rising prices.
    “Oil prices, I think, they started the year at about US$50 a barrel. They are now about US$84 a barrel, so that obviously is a concern as an oil-importing country because it impacts not only our foreign exchange but it also impacts the cost of doing business and therefore our overall competitiveness, and therefore that is a concern for us,” he explained.
    The Central Bank’s data showed that “for the first 12 months ending August 2021, domestic prices rose by 1.8 per cent”.
    There were price increases for food and non-alcoholic beverages, transportation and housing and utilities, with international oil prices and freighting costs the main drivers of this.
    Early sign
    Despite the growth, the Governor is not prepared to say it is an early sign of Barbados’ emergence from recession, largely because the economy is still some ways off of its 2019 level, having contracted by about 18 per cent last year.
    “We went through a really rough period in the June quarter and the September quarter last year where the losses were just quite astronomical, so it’s perhaps quite easy for us to be able to recover from the depths of those numbers,” he reasoned.
    “What we want to be able to do is to get back to levels that are closer to where we were in 2019 and to be able to grow. So yes, the economy is growing but it is growing from what is essentially a very low base.”
    He added: “We didn’t do anything to get ourselves there – it was not policyinduced – and therefore I don’t want to use the words that we are out of recession. But we are recovering, the economy is growing, the tourism is on its way back, but we still have a long way to go to where we would want to be before we start to have discussions about recessions and out of recessions.” ( SC)

    Source: Nation


  2. Govt to borrow up to $100m
    GOVERNMENT is borrowing another $80 million to $100 million, with the funding expected to be in hand before the end of the year.
    Central Bank Governor Cleviston Haynes shared news of this yesterday during his third-quarter press conference.
    He detailed the additional funding inflows as the bank’s latest review revealed that while Government’s revenues had started to recover, they remained well below pre-COVID levels. Additionally, spending continued to increase during the first half of the fiscal year, and this was mainly related to COVID-19 pandemic expenditure.
    “As you are aware, most of our borrowing in recent years has been from the international financial institutions, whether it be the IDB (Inter-American Development Bank), the World Bank, or the CDB (Caribbean Development Bank). I think we have a loan lined up with one of these agencies, approximately $80 [million] to $100 million is the figure that I seem to recall, and we anticipate to be able to draw on that during this quarter,” Haynes said.
    In August, Barbados received about $261.6 million from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), its portion of a $1.3 trillion new allocation of Special
    Drawing Rights, not a loan.
    Barbados foreign reserves were $2.8 billion (about 42 weeks of import cover) at the end of September, having been boosted by the SDRs and $249 million from multilateral lending agencies.
    Regarding debt, the Central Bank report said Government registered “a modest increase in debt over the past six months, principally due to the policybased loans received from the World Bank and IMF”.
    However, it added: “While the debt stock reached $13.1 billion, up from $12.9 billion in March, the debt ratio fell by five percentage points to 146.1 per cent of GDP, reflecting the impact of the economic recovery.”
    (SC)

    Source: Nation


  3. Haynes: Banks must reduce fees
    FROM NEXT MONTH commercial banks and credit unions will have to reduce the debit card fees they are charging consumers and businesses.
    Central Bank Governor Cleviston Haynes announced yesterday that following complaints from Barbadians, his institution had intervened to mandate that these financial institutions charge no more than $3 per transaction when customers use automated teller machines (ATM) other than those owned by their bank or credit union.
    There will also be no charges when shoppers use their Visa and Mastercard debit cards at businesses with point-of-sale (POS) terminals, he added.
    Haynes said the Central Bank, which regulates the bank sector, would continue to monitor the situation and was prepared to intervene again if necessary.
    Commercial banks and credit unions will no longer be using CarIFS (Caribbean Integrated Financial Services Ltd.), an automated debit switch that links ATM and POS terminals across Barbados, having switched to Visa and Mastercard debit cards.
    However, consumers have been complaining about the related high fees, and Haynes said he understood some charges were as high as $6.50 per transaction.
    “The bank recognises that these fees do raise the cost of banking services and considers that high fees for the use of digital banking services may serve to undermine the national efforts to reduce the use of physical cash and increase reliance on digital transactions,” he said.
    “The bank has therefore taken the opportunity to review the fees that banks charge each other as proposed by Visa and Mastercard and following discussions with the banks and the credit unions, the bank has decided to intervene in the pricing of debit card transactions.”
    He explained: “This initial intervention is intended to standardise the interchange rate for Visa [and] Mastercard debit card transactions and to cushion the impact of the increased fees on depositors and hopefully the business sector. The bank will continue to monitor the impact of these fees and reserves the right for further intervention.
    “Further, the payment system itself is being modernised, including through the implementation of real time Automated Clearing House. This should create the potential for the adoption by financial institutions of other more cost effective solutions and the bank will seek to incentivise their early adoption.”
    The Governor encouraged financial institutions to “provide the education to their clientele so that prudent choices about low-cost services can be made”, and he also advised the public to, wherever possible, use the facilities of their banks and credit unions.
    “We need to be fair to customers both in terms of individuals, in terms of merchants, [and] in terms of the financial institutions. But this is where we are at, at this point in time,.
    The Central Bank said its first intervention in the matter was intended to standardise the interchange rate for Visa/Mastercard debit card transactions; and cushion the impact of the increased fees on depositors and the business sector.
    The bank added that while November 1 was the effective date of reduce fees, “some banks may continue to operate on CarIFS beyond that date”. ( SC)

    Source: Nation


  4. Is the change to the travel protocol a case of a money grab trumping the science?

    Protocol change ‘likely to boost winter season’
    by COLVILLE MOUNSEY
    colvillemounsey@nationnews.com
    GOVERNMENT’S DECISION to remove testing and quarantine entry protocols for vaccinated travellers is likely to boost the fortunes of the hotel sector this winter season following initial “mass cancellations”, says chairman of the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA), Geoffrey Roach.
    However, he said it was too early to determine whether the move will reverse the cancellations, which the accommodation industry is blaming squarely on the relatively low uptake of COVID-19 vaccinations within the sector.
    Roach also warned that while the loosening of border restrictions ought to redound to the benefit of hotels in the medium term, expectations are that there will be a sharp decline in revenue for the many hotels that facilitated the mandatory quarantine requirements for visitors to the island.
    “What we are hearing is that persons in the source markets are happy and are more likely to make a trip now, but it is really too early to say what the numbers are going to be because it has only been two days. With that said, the expectation is that we will see some pick-up in visitor arrivals.
    “However, we have to also consider that having made the changes in the protocols, the hotels that acted as quarantine, which would also include the locals that are travelling, would be no longer needed and lose that revenue,” he told the MIDWEEK NATION yesterday.
    “So there are going to be losses in one regard, but we are hopeful that over the medium term, the hotel sector will pick up some increases in the number of hotel bookings.” Last week Government announced that fully vaccinated travellers with a negative PCR test no older than 72 hours, were no longer required to take a mandatory PCR test or quarantine for at least 24 hours. The change took effect from Sunday. Meanwhile, unvaccinated passengers are still required to undergo a second PCR test on arrival and quarantine for up to seven days, with a repeat PCR test on Day 5. The chairman said that based on the statistics which Government has provided as it relates to the positivity rate among vaccinated travellers, BHTA members had expressed some level of comfort and confidence
    in the safety of the plan.
    “For the most part there is a level of comfort that fully vaccinated persons no longer have to go through this long process. It is a logically sound position, given the Minister of Health’s revelation that less than one per cent of arriving passengers were testing positive for COVID-19. As I said earlier, we have to wait and see how this affects the numbers for the upcoming season,” he said.
    Roach also addressed the apparent disconnect between the BHTA’s alarm over recent cancellations, while Minister of Tourism Lisa Cummins has made it clear that the sector was experiencing no such setbacks.
    He said: “Our position on the issue remains the same. We have nothing to revise in terms of what we have put out there.”
    Roach did not elaborate further in response to the evidence put forward by the minister, which runs counter to the earlier concerns raised by the BHTA.
    Last week Cummins said that based on reports she received, bookings had placed the majority of hotels above 70 per cent capacity.
    She said since the announcement in June that Barbados was on the United Kingdom’s green list, forward bookings went up fourfold and there had been no abatement to this trend.

    Source: Nation


  5. Why hasn’t govt laid out a Budget in the House of Parliament
    We the people have a right to know why
    We the people have a Constitutional right under laws of good governance to have one
    This govt keeping using their own interpretation of law to violate the Constitution
    Athetley must use his right of given Power to bring a no confidence vote against govt even if he does not get the necessary votes
    However the call for No Confidence against the PM would be placed into the archives of history
    A message needs to be sent to this govt that the laws of this country are fundamental guidelines for good governance


    • What is the DLP ‘shadow’ minister of finance saying?

      Is the ‘shadow’ person still Verla DePeiza?


  6. David

    Asking banks to reduce fees is to say go out of business.

    For these, not the traditional loans and so on, make up near to 100 percent of banking revenues.

    Banking is not what it used to be. Let’s talk about shadow banks, unbank banks, hedge funds, etc


  7. David

    The nonsense about economy gives us a 3 percent or 5 percent growth rate after an 18 percent decline in the previous year.

    Quite easy to register these socalled quarterly growth rates from an 18 percent decline. No magic here


    • @Pacha

      It is all a game the power brokers play is it not? The local banks have not forgiven this government for the haircut they were forced to take in 2018. They may have agreed to reduce fees but be assured it will be made up for elsewhere.


  8. DavidOctober 27, 2021 7:39 AM

    What is the DLP ‘shadow’ minister of finance saying?

    Is the ‘shadow’ person still Verla DePeiza

    Xxxxx
    Oh boy u sure know how to throw some shade over an.issue that lends itself to good governance for the people
    Don’t u think that these ongoing deliberate misteps against the Constitution are baby steps to a dictatorship


  9. @ King David,
    Excellent news. Barbados economy appears to be rebounding. Is this “growth” a unique result of an increase in tourism or are we witnessing a growth in other sectors of our economy. What says King David.


  10. Other Traded Activity
    Manufacturing output, which was affected by the heavy ashfall, rose by an estimated 4.7 percent over the January to September period with the main contributors to the expansion in production being food and beverages. Food processors benefited from higher domestic demand for their products, while the growth in beverages stemmed from higher production of rum, partly to satisfy higher export demand. Rum producers continue to face increased competition in the domestic market which has tempered the growth of the sub-sector.
    Preliminary data indicates a modest increase in non-sugar agriculture production during the third quarter when compared to the same period last year. Higher output was registered for the milk, chicken and fish production. However, the lower demand in the first half of the year attributed to the fall-off in tourism activity, the ashfall, and the hurricane reduced output across most of the agricultural categories over the nine-month period, with the exception of milk production which benefited from the importation of a herd of cows last year.
    Non-Traded Activity
    Over the past six months, there has been a robust recovery in the non-traded sectors. With restrictions on business activity reduced, the majority of the expanded activity was realized in the business and other services, wholesale and retail and construction sub-sectors. The improved performance has been reflected in higher electricity usage which shrunk in 2020 because of the reduced commercial activity, particularly in the tourism sector. Residential usage which expanded with the increase in remote work continued to grow but at a slower pace during the


  11. David
    Yes, yes!

    What however is of moment in international non-mainstream media today is an unrelated matter.

    As the United States government in a London court pursues their decade-old persecution of Jullian Assange.

    We are uncertain what local interest is in the press but the United States government and its CIA in collusion with the inJustice Department and others have broken all the laws, traditions of decency, known to god or man to extradite this truth-teller to their dungeons and certain death.

    For Assamge is no less an historical figure than Alexander Solzhenitsyn, the Russian, USSR, dissident or indeed the British navigator Walter Raleigh, who too were held under such brutal conditions.

    Assange’s only crime was to tell the peoples of the world the truth, for a change. But that the tapestry of lies in which we must live could not hold its “exceptionlism” without challenge means a persecution, an extra-ordinary rendition, an extradition and the solitary confinement of Assange must now be forced through a British kangaroo high court even as media whores, presstitutes, who benefited exceedingly well from these the same disclosures of Wikileaks, Collateral Murder a case in point.

    “Give Jullian Assange Free”


  12. PachamamaOctober 27, 2021 8:00 AM

    David

    Asking banks to reduce fees is to say go out of business

    Xxxxx
    Uh think so
    There is always ways to collect also be mindful that govt collection of taxes on these fees may result in loss of govt revenue
    Which at some point and time would have to made up for by poor Joe and Mary citizens
    Here again is where the lack of transparency raises its head
    But then again people eyes are so blinded that there sense of reasoning is lost in gimmicks


  13. some will die and some will live.

    to jab or not to jab.

    Interpreting a Central bank report is way above my pay grade.

    What I can say is that Barbadians should have a personal austerity budget and save as much money as they can .

    Tings could get wussa.


  14. AC
    Yes.
    However, our bigger point is that bricks and mortar banks are not what they once were. They hardly do much lending anymore and their revenue streams are limited to fees. This is a global 20 year old reality. We should stop the pretense that these are real banks and elevate the credit unions.


  15. Scotiabank, CIBC and Royal Bank have been in Barbados for roughly 50 years.

    They could be reminded of their years of prosperity in Barbados and the added value to Canadian tourists over the years before Covid 19.


    • @Hants

      These people run a business, it is not charity. When money cannot be made decisions will be made to fix it. This may mean retiring from the market as we have been seeing.


  16. David
    Forgive Hants. For he holds an unenlightened view about banks. They could be better though about as legalized criminals, especially in this most recent incarnation.


    • Canadian banks have rate of return metrics which are slavishly adhered to avoid adverse unfavorable comment from rhe people on Bay Street.


  17. @Hants

    “They could be reminded of their years of prosperity in Barbados and the added value to Canadian tourists over the years before Covid 19.”

    They also remember a FINANCIAL HAIRCUT, the settlement of which has NOT BEEN PAID.


  18. More tot kicking,,,
    “He said if Government attempted to use the Series F structure as currently constituted the cash requirement between now and next September 30 would be significant and would impact on Government’s ability to carry out other programmes.
    The finance minister said: “Because of the significant arrears in relation to land acquisition as well as outstanding legal claims, it has meant that with the current Series F bonds expiring September 30, 2022, we have now created this new series which is flexible.
    “Basically where we are with respect to what we are doing here, we are simply putting a framework in place to ensure that the settlement of the principle of those arrears can be done over the 42-month period.”
    https://barbadostoday.bb/2021/10/27/bond-payout-for-compulsorily-acquired-land-straughn/


  19. “I think we have a loan lined up with one of these agencies, approximately $80 [million] to $100 million is the figure that I seem to recall,” Gov Haynes
    Imagine, the Guv “thinks” they have a loan lined up, but he en sure hummuch or exactly which agency is providing the loan, and he likely cannot remember the terms if he cannot recall the exact amount? And we wonder why………………..??

    Wait anybody see the new Republic flag yet?


  20. @ Pachamama who wrote ” Forgive Hants. For he holds an unenlightened view about banks ”

    You are probably right. I am unenlightened about most things.


  21. @Hants
    They could be reminded of their years of prosperity in Barbados and the added value to Canadian tourists over the years before Covid 19.
    +++++++
    Business is business, sentimentality doesn’t add to the bottom line, one of those three has been trying to get out, the other two are holding their cards close to their chest any negative news could tilt the apple cart.


  22. “one of those three has been trying to get out”…in fact all three. The CIBC deal with the Columbian bank, where CIBC lent said Columbian Bank nearly all the money, fell through, and they have since sold off CIBC entities in other islands on a piecemeal basis. Scotia sold a bunch of island locations to Republic, though Brown’s objections in A&B squashed that location. RBC exited the “wealth management” business some years back, and ‘believe’ they finally sold their Trust entity. They would gladly exit the remaining island markets, but with CIBC and Scotia actively seeking buyers, they cannot get “value”.


  23. Atherley has made a stellar and reasonable contribution a prudent and necessary call on govt to deliver a Budget
    Govt instance on hiding behind the COVID curtain falls short and is a stale red herring which if not lifted can cause Barbados plenty economic woes in the future
    As with COVID govt has already and continues to gamble with the lives on the people
    The economy should not become a part of govt one upmanship


  24. AC
    When are you, under D or B, come to recognize that any government can do whatever felt like whenever so pleased. And that there’s a term for that.


  25. in the above live video Caswell is on the floor of the House speaking

    unfortunately access is being denied on this platform


  26. Caswell.said 24 million dollars in” red herring” is nuf nuff containers of red herring
    Wuh loss
    Some one should ask PM how she expected to get rid of them red herrings without no one noticing
    Afterall red herrings does stink


  27. AC the problem with persons like Mr Franklyn, Rev Atherley, the political nightwatchman Ms Depeiza and you is that most bajans know how badly you all what this government to fail to allow the lost dems or the amateur PDP to get elected.In my view it will not happen as neirher of theze two parties have a clue as to what they would do.I already told you this is not amateur hour. These are serious times and calls for real leaders with serious plans going forward not amateurs.However there is the possibilty of an election in a few months so you all will get your wish.I do hope you are ready otherwise it will be more of the same
    I gone.


  28. Lorenzo get yuh facts right don’t get them twisted
    I have no problem
    All the problems are being laid at the feet of govt
    Since govt refused to be transparent can u please tell all how much money govt has borrower in three years
    Also can u please tell what policies or plans govt have on hand to repay the debt


  29. These are serious times and calls for real leaders with serious plans going forward not amateurs.However there is the possibilty of an election in a few months so you all will get your wish.I do hope you are ready otherwise it will be more of the same

    xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

    I GUESS MIA MOTTLEY SERIOUS PLANS IS TO GIVE MORE UNDER THE TABLE DEALS TO MARK MALONEY AND CHRIS SINCLAIR 2 PEOPLE SHE PROMISED TO BRING BEFORE THE LAW COURTS IN 2018.


  30. Lorenzo
    @ a

    BAJEOctober 27, 2021 7:11 PM

    These are serious times and calls for real leaders with serious plans going forward not amateurs.However there is the possibilty of an election in a few months so you all will get your wish.I do hope you are ready otherwise it will be more of the same

    xxxx
    Yes indeed so serious that crooks are taking over the island banking industry by force and the AG is nowhere to be found except on Tuesdays and Wednesday
    Talk of a waste of taxpayers money


  31. Enuff
    Is not necessarily wrong.
    We seem to recall Barrow and maybe Thompson giving the shortest budget speeches in recent history.

    For Barrow it was at the end of the recession of the mid-1970s and the DLP was exhausted from 15 years in powah.

    Maybe David could jog our memories about Thompson’s truncated presentation, if memories are well served.

    In any event, financial statements and budgetary proposals are more a customary feature of the Westminster system than a mandatory requirement, a scientific process..

    It merely gives a rough ideas where the country is but is not always precise. First the estimates are laid and discussed. Even after accepted and the budget passes government invariably, and almost immediately afterwards, returns for supplementals because government forecasting of revenues and expenditures are both notoriously imprecise. Then there are always afterthoughts and political considerations – some yardfowls may have to be fed.

    All of these factors together suggest the budget as a mere dog and pony show.


  32. Excuse does not cover the fact that it a necessity and a right for govt to present Budgets to the people
    Because others were allowed not to do so does not say what others did was right
    The laws of good governance does not make way for wrong
    Only political yardfowls and foot soldiers would defend a govt breaking laws that are clear precise directives for good governance
    Transparency must be a strong hold to keep govt on the straight and narrow
    Presently we have a govt who is attempting to spend money without being transparent to the people and evidence shows that those money was heading towards into the hands of crooks and scalliwags
    Asking govt to produce a Budget is a civic and a constituional right of every citizens
    Atherly did not break any law by so doing but rather took govt to task in a correct and forceful manner
    The laws of a country does not exempt govt


  33. Health vs economy
    THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC is a severe health crisis and an economic one too. There will obviously be a determination as to which one takes precedence, given the key decisions that must be made within the coming weeks.
    This is why it was so interesting to hear Governor of the Central Bank, Cleviston Haynes’ review on Tuesday of the economic performance for the first three quarters of this year. At the end of his presentation, it was evident that getting the pandemic under control is an absolute necessity if the economy is to remain resilient, business activity to be revitalised and for there to be meaningful growth.
    His overview also highlighted the importance of the tourism sector to any economic resurgence given its role as a foreign exchange earner, provider of jobs and revenue generator for the Government.
    While the Governor is optimistic in his outlook, pointing to an uptick in economic activity, he is also worried, as most residents should be, about certain developments.
    Unemployment is still leaving too many people out of a fair share of the economic pie. While the number of jobless is being recorded at 15.9 per cent, the real figure is much higher given the number of people not captured in any statistical data.
    Even more worrisome is the rising level of out-of-work women, often the main breadwinners in many households. This situation could lead to unsatisfactory outcomes, ranging from greater demand for welfare services and a rise in poverty levels.
    The Government understands the severity of the problem and is therefore doing whatever it thinks necessary to boost the economy. With the start of the winter tourist season in just a few weeks, there will be pressure on the Mia Amor Mottley administration not to miss out on the reports of solid advanced visitor bookings, flights from new European destinations and the return of numerous cruise ships.
    The situation highlights the conflict between the economy and health care, even as we witness the deadly community spread of COVID-19.
    Barbados is in a predicament. So, despite the consistently sound recommendations from the Barbados Association of Medical Practitioners on fighting the pandemic, those suggestions may be ignored in what is seen as a crunch time. The country needs all the benefits the tourism sector can bring since an economic crash would be a catastrophe, including for public health. Still, even as the state looks at the financial gains, it must preserve the health care system.
    Governor Haynes is following a straight line, focusing only on economics but recognises that there are other pressing issues, including the rising cost of living and the need for the public sector to be more efficient in facilitating the ease of doing business.
    The Government, on the other hand, has different objectives that include there being no immediate threat to the economy.
    The situation calls for difficult choices, but economics may well take precedence at this stage.

    Source: Nation


  34. Let us continually speak truth to power

    AS WITH ALL SMALL SOCIETIES, interpersonal relationships and political affiliation often determine one’s status on the farm. When we accept that all animals are created equal but some are more equal than some, instead of speaking our truth, most of us whisper in secret for fear of being victimised by the elite.
    It takes tremendous courage to speak truth to power in small societies because the repercussions are often quite severe. If your job is not threatened, your business suddenly gets audited.
    The fact remains that persons at variance with the officials are often labelled as liars, traitors or revolutionists until such time as they sing from the same hymn book as the officialdom.
    I would like to take this opportunity to salute Senator Caswell Franklyn and Dr Ronnie Yearwood, in particular, for maintaining their testicular fortitude and honour as they continually share their opinions and insights on issues of national significance, even though they are sometimes chastised for doing so.
    One could understand and certainly reject arguments that are unfounded and baseless, but I am yet to read any of their submissions that were not grounded in fact or logic.
    We may not agree with their positions or opinions, but as the saying goes, “their logic is sound”. There are others who speak truth to power in our society and as far as I am concerned, they are all national heroes. Many of us shy away from conflict or we prefer to allow others to fight on our behalf. We choose the silent path, the path with less risk.
    In any modern democracy, to remain silent or to whisper in secret will eventually lead to a totalitarian
    state where the citizens are enslaved both mentally and physically. We must never surrender our democratic right to object and we must never retreat from articulating our concerns.
    Let us forge the courage of our ancestors. Let us shed the fear of the elitist repercussions, and let us continually speak truth to power.

    – SEAN ST CLAIR FIELDS

    Source: Nation


  35. AC
    Respect the differences between a custom and a legal requirement. For these are miles apart. A budget was never a legal requirement. If you think youre right then state the law.


    • @Pacha

      Here is the article William shared.

      Prominent figures unhappy after rowdy Parliament vote

      THE move by the Kamla Persad-Bissessar-led Opposition to file a motion in Parliament seeking the removal of President Paula-Mae Weeks continues to be a hot topic, especially given the disorder that reigned in the House caused by the Opposition.

      The motion was defeated 47-24 after the vote of the Electoral College was taken in the Parliament Chamber, Red House, Port of Spain.

      Several prominent personalities shared their views after the historic vote was taken.
      Former prime minister and former UNC leader Basdeo Panday: “The problem is not with the people. It is with the Westminster system. The system creates that kind of situation and unless we have the courage to change it, and to change the Constitution, then they can act in a certain way. Politicians will continue to act in a particular way …which is not in the interest of the country. I maintain it’s not the people.

      “It won’t change. It will get worse. The Westminster system is not suited to us. It is neither full or form. It has no substance. The late former prime ministers Dr Eric Williams and ANR Robinson had the opportunity, but they did not change it. Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar did not want it changed. We keep blaming the President and blaming each other. The problem is the system. It will breed a kind of people that we have. That is my argument. I have been saying so since 1972.

      “It is going to get worse until we hit rock bottom and, when we it does, it will explode in violence.”Former foreign affairs minister Winston Dookeran: “The institutions of government were under threat in 1990 with an attempted coup. And I remember it with trepidation and fear. In 2007, in the general election,Ispoke on the political platform under the banner of the Congress of the People. I said ‘The centre is not holding’.

      “It is time we restore the glue that holds this country together. The glue that holds our democracy together.
      One such glue is the proper functioning of our parliamentary system. Apart from structure, it’s an important glue in holding this country together.

      In this context I am saddened by what is happening at this time in the Parliament of the country. We need to restore the sense of integrity and dignity in our political institutions.”

      Former Port of Spain mayor Louis Lee Sing: “I think we have come to a complete circle. It is not now; but for a long time the nation’s Parliament has been used to score cheap political points. And not in the best interest of the people of Trinidad and Tobago, and the Republic. What happened today (Thursday) is an illustration of the abuse of the resources of the people.

      We are singing, waving and dancing our colours, whether it be red or yellow, to the detriment of the people. It is time the parliamentarians begin to do their jobs, and do it well. And do it in the best interest of the people. There are no winners, just losers. We are all losers today.”

      St Augustine Campus History lecturer Dr Jerome Teelucksingh: “The vote might be historic but it was a waste of time, money and energy, simply, because the Opposition has less than a two-thirds majority in the Senate and House of Representatives. The Opposition might appear impotent but it has a vital role and can use its limited voice to change the dynamics and ensure democracy. The majority of our citizens are aware of the painful reality- this is another unfortunate incident in which our parliamentarians are providing lip-service and smokescreens. Motions to deal with real issues of unemployment, lack of potable water, increasing food prices, illiteracy, drug trafficking, crime, illegal migration and poverty are not being passed.

      “Some of us also need to stop believing that certain institutions, commissions and persons are independent. Unfortunately, many so-called independent bodies and individuals have been tainted by politics.
      This lack or absence of independent persons and commissions in T&T is not a problem of 2021, this is one of the deficiencies of the Westminster system, and, more importantly, it reflects the continuing colonial stench in which the party in power is virtually unstoppable. We need to change the paradigm for effective governance.”

      Read More


  36. SEAN St. CLAIR FIELDS

    Absolutely correct
    Many speak of democratic rights but when soldiers are called on the battle field to.protect those rights many are missing
    But make no mistake the political foot soldiers are the first to step up on the battlefield to defend and protect the wrongs
    Not everything is written on legal paper as doctrine but there are sound moral rights which call for voices to be heard and speak truth to power


  37. David
    Aren’t the appropriation bills not merely the process by which government’s spending is introduced. If so these would be done many times a year and would be a far cry from a constitutional requirement for an annual budget as has been posited, a process not based on a legal requirement an annual budget.


  38. AC you were asked to quote the law stating a budget has to be delivered.Instead you talk shite about everything foes not have to be in writing.Why is it because you CANNOT STSTE ANY LAW REQUESTING SUCH.You are swiping like blind elder hoping sething sticks and if you are the best the dems have to represent them on here they should call for an immediate refund as you like the political nightwatchman and Rev Atherley are very poor in my view.Just have a lisyen to Atherlry trying to defend Mr Franklyn,s attention grabbing poor behaviour in the recent debate.I gone.


  39. Some memorable occurrences in our Parliament:
    Eric Sealy sitting in the Speaker’s chair and Tom Adams telling the police : “ Do not touch him.”
    One MP pulling a gun on another MP;
    One MP telling another about his mother’s scrunt or was it c….?
    Arthur a former PM declaring it a poor rakey Parliament.

    Now how do the above rate with Senator Franklyn , raising his voice , to criticise a measure he did not supoort?
    Furthermore, Senator Franklyn asked the President’s permission to leave the chamber and it was granted.


  40. Lorenzo
    Obviously my comment made u fly off the fence
    As a matter of fact I stated only political yardfowls would joined political forces to defend wrong
    Your presence of attacks only prove I was right


  41. Skinner
    You already know very well that “these days are funny nights.”

    No dissent is to be tolerated at the heart of the system. Especially not against the maximum leader.


  42. @ Pacha
    As you have often opined the center can no longer hold. Recent events in Trinidad are in concord with your position.


  43. Appropriation of Expenditure is normally referred to as Budget
    PM mottley has not in usual manner presented one
    This is a law which is written into the Constitution which only the yardfowl fowls by politicks design would attempt to introduce red herring tactics to defend and use as a distraction

    ,

    CHAPTER IX
    FINANCE
    107. There shall

    (1) The Minister responsible for Finance shall, before the
    end of each financial year, cause to be prepared annual estimates of
    revenue and expenditure for public services during the succeeding
    financial year, which shall be laid before the House of Assembly.
    (2) The estimates of expenditure shall show separately the sums
    required to meet statutory expenditure (as defined in section 109(7))
    and the sums required to meet other expenditure proposed to be charged
    to the Consolidated Fund.
    (1) The Minister responsible for Finance shall, in respect of
    each financial year, at the earliest convenient moment before the
    commencement of that financial year, introduce in the House of
    Assembly an Appropriation Bill containing, under appropriate heads


  44. angela cox October 28, 2021 5:09 AM #: “Only political yardfowls and foot soldiers would defend a govt breaking laws that are clear precise directives for good governance.”

    Hmmmm……..

    I find you above comment extremely interesting. It’s either you experienced a ‘Damascus moment’……… or, as the ‘old saying goes,’ “confession is good for the soul.”

    Perhaps you should review your contributions to BU, during the tenure of the former DLP administration……. and I’m sure you’ll be able to identify instances where you “defended a govt breaking laws that are clear precise directives for good governance.”

    So, I hope you don’t become angry when under similar circumstances, people describe you as a “political yardfowl and foot soldier as well.”


  45. @ Pacha
    I have sent the article to BU to share . It was in response to the attempt by the opposition to remove the President of T
    and T.
    It originally appeared in the Trinidad Express.


  46. AC
    Would have preferred to see whether this is the constitution as argued by you or not.

    However, you seem to be quite right in your assertions. For the abstraction definitely says “shall” many times. So it has to be a requirement.

    Failure to so do appears to be a breach of law, unless there are provisos unseen.


  47. @ Lorenzo October 28, 2021 8:25 AM

    This is one occasion I have to agree with angela cox.

    Using COVID-19 as as the reason for not presenting a ‘Budget’ is a VERY POOR EXCUSE.

    A ‘Budget’ is simply as ESTIMATE of income and expenditure for a financial year. It isn’t uncommon for any political administration to request supplementary grants whenever the actual government expenditure incurred exceeds the allocations to Ministries, departments, quasi or statutory corporations that were approved by Parliament.

    Additionally, Mottley, with a Director of Finance, two ministers and three (3) ministers in the Ministry of Finance, have been unable to present Barbadians with any definitive pre and post COVID-19 socio-economic policies.

    Lorenzo, you may ‘like’ these guys, but the reality is, they’re doing an extremely poor job of managing the affairs of this island.


  48. Skinner

    Just read around the subject in the Express, about 6 articles, for the removal of the president of T and T.

    And yuh right! The centre can’t hold. But it seems apocryphal for Barbados.

    In Trinidad we have a republican constitution and a republican president.

    In Barbados, we have a republican president and a monarchical constitution, in the breach

    This smells like trouble awaiting us.


  49. ******** Additionally, Mottley, with a Director of Finance, two ministers and three (3) CONSULTANTS in the Ministry of Finance, have been unable to present Barbadians with any definitive pre and post COVID-19 socio-economic policies.


  50. Artax i respect you as one of the only real neutral on here.I agree that the budget should have come by now but i also heard the reasoning of Mr Straughn about the uncertainty of covid estimates at this time.Therefore i give them the benefit of the doubt at this time.However i disagree with you over the job this government has been doing.I believe they are doing the best they can with this worldwide pandemic.These are difficult times as this virus evolves and there is no other party who has ever had to deal with such a difficult situation .In addition, there is no one in the other two main parties who has the capacity to do any better but certainly far worse in these times.Finally, as i have stated this is not amateur hour for any try a thing government.We saw where that got us with Mr Thompson, Mr Stuart etc who were duperior to anyone in the present day Dems or the PDP.I gone.


  51. Lorenzo that is a red herring defense
    All Atherley was asking was for govt to.present how the tax payers money was spent in the past year and going forward how much would be appropriated
    All the long talk about COVID is political poop
    Mia said many hands makes for light work
    She has many hands at her disposable to table a Budget for the people
    Atherley is absolute right in placing a Budget card on the table


  52. Who de he’ll does Ryan Straughan think he is
    After that pass poor excuse makes hard to belive anything written in the long over due budget if and when Mottley delivers one for this year
    Yuh mean to say govt doesn’t have any monetary plans or policies on action to tell which direction the economy would be heading
    How can Mia as finance Minister be in charge of the public purse if she does not know in which direction or directions the taxpayers money would be sent


  53. Our Supreme Leader is absolutely right to discard the insane advice of the xenophobic BAMP president. The BAMP president and the opposition are systematically undermining the vaccination campaign and scapegoating fully vaccinated tourists, when the native masses simply do not want to be vaccinated. In fact, it is not the vaccinated tourists who endanger the unvaccinated masses, but vice versa the latter endanger the former.

    The masses can choose: vaccinate or recover or die. Our island is overpopulated anyway. Time to change that.


  54. Here is a theory.
    Barbados would function just as well without a central government.

    One joker in St Lucy wanted a his own airport. I would like one or two of the parishes to declare independence. One island, two states.

    Forgive me, but i don’t take this stuff seriously.


  55. @Tron
    The masses can choose: vaccinate or recover or die. Our island is overpopulated anyway. Time to change that
    ++++++++++++

    As a fervent disciple of the Supreme Leader you have wandered off the path to the Republic, last year the SL said Barbados was short about 80,000 people


  56. Government’s Budget was since March 2021! It is called Estimates and Expenditure. Additional expenditure was secured via supplementary votes in Parliament. This week the government laid its mid-year review and the Central Bank released its quarterly report. The absence of a “budget” speech at this time is neither unconstitutional nor negligent as is being purported. Maybe the lady’s handlers should encourage her to take the free online Civics course before exposing BU to her runnings. Then again it seems she’s always in need of loperamide.🤣🤣


  57. Persaud to lead Green Fund

    One of Government’s financial advisors has a new remit.
    Financial expert Dr Avinash Persaud confirmed yesterday that he will be the man in charge of the Green Climate Fund initiative.
    “Yesterday, the Prime Minister of Barbados announced that she has asked me to lead a team working with the Green Climate Fund to establish an International Green Bank to finance the transition to a more sustainable future locally, regionally and, where appropriate, beyond,” Persaud revealed.
    “I shall be stepping down from chairing the Financial Services Commission, which I had previously announced last month but wasn’t able to give any details at the time. I am excited,” he said about the new undertaking.
    Persaud added that he was aware of the many challenges that officials would be only partly able to address by starting with a modern, digital platform.
    “I will need much assistance and expertise. I am also happy to be leaving the FSC in good shape: self-funded, in new, more tech-suited offices, plenty
    of learning on my part, no major failures and losses by consumers and with new processes that have taken new and renewal of licence applications from 12 to 15 weeks to four weeks for new and zero for most renewals,” the consultant said.
    (BA/PR)

    Source: Nation


  58. @SargeantOctober 28, 2021 8:30 PM

    Thank you for reminding me of my loyalty and honour to our Supreme Leader. A good citizen is only one who practices obedience to our Supreme Leader!

    I interpret the request for 80,000 New Barbadians to mean that our Supreme Leader does not want a real population increase, but a population exchange of old for new.

    Without any doubt, Mia Mottley has already achieved the status of a legend. She has defeated volcanic ash, Elsa, cockroaches, DLP, Donville Inniss and OSA, and is now driving all vaccination opponents to their graves.

    No other prime minister since 1966 has slaughtered opponents as efficiently and brutally as she has.

    She has proclaimed the republic, restructured the public finances and resurfaced the roads.

    No other head of state comes close to matching her.


  59. Skinner
    David
    Thanks much to both of you..
    The mess in T and T is what Barbados can expect in the near future. It certainly is unhelpful when this current dictatorial regime showed its hand by going to republicanism without a wide, deep and extended national conversation.

    Trinidad has been a republic for decades and still bedeviled by the Westminster system. This is why the intentions of this prime minister Mottley. to do likewise, so far, was always a monumental national misguidance.

    We have long been contending that should this venture be approached the errors of the multitude of republican projects elsewhere should have been avoided. Instead we have a woman imbued with a need to put personal legacy above the interests of the nation.

    When social scientists start talking about things like “the centre cannot hold” you know yuh got nuff rasssoul problems. These are not social discourses to be taken likely. For they are the military equivalent of the use of nuclear weapons in seriousness.

    Notwithstanding all these forces around us, a feckless prime minister can blindly plunge us into a place of immeasurable uncertainty.

    On the blue bank.
    Why is it that we are always so anxious to follow prescriptions from the IMF, the World Bank and other international agencies to follow the same cookie-cutter social and economic policies.

    Currently in Belize, the government is doing t h e same type policies. It is leading the people to believe that the national debt could be reduced, especially the albatross of a “Super Bond” as inflicted by this party last time around, in exchange for the proceeds from a Blue Bond secured by environmentally sensitive national assets.

    A mere neocolonial transaction!

    Are these the outer limits of our imagination, as a region?


  60. David

    There is a too high possibility that we are, could, especially with the way we’ve started. So yes, in a word.


  61. @ Pacha
    You’re on point. Note the fancy term “ Greene “ banks etc
    When are we going to radicalize our cooperatives to move into filling the banking needs of our communities. There will be no land reform or true redistribution of real wealth via any concocted banking system. It’s just old wine in new barrels.


  62. Pachamama
    No! T’dad’s problem is not their form of Republicanism. It is the population mix between afro-trinis and indo-trinis (especially Hindu) and an allegiance to their respective “African party” and “Indian party”. No difference to Guyana where a different system of Republican government is practiced. The attempt to impeach the president was pure desperation on Kamla’s part, a woman that needs to go siddung.
    .


  63. Enuff
    Expectedly, your argumentations are always geared to protect a certain barley field from burning. LOL.

    But seriously, social scientists give weightings to a range of social forces. We suggest those referenced by you are integral but you have erred by supplying too few fire engines for blazes long at their peak.


  64. William Skinner
    We’re about to give up. For it is unknowable when we as a people will stop trusting White people and the new trinkets dey always concocting. There is always some trick to distract us, re-enslave us. We fall for it all the time.

    Yes, as you know, we’ve been for decades suggesting the credit unionization of all major banking and financial services companies.

    Can’t even get a man like David to show an interest in how the Chinese avoided these excuses for development and miraculously bypassed similar circumstances as the Russians during the 1990s, with homegrown economic ingenuity.


  65. @ Pacha
    David is into newspeak and cliches. Attempts or ideas of changing how we think about development has frustrated many a progressive thinker.
    We brag about “home grown “ economic models controlled by the IMF.
    That’s who we are ; borrowing money as economic policy . Now on our third or fourth trip to the IMF and the masquerade continues.
    Every six months the massa comes around and sees how the plantation is being managed. Modern absentee ownership.
    As & WURA says : The slaves believe they are running things. Yes Suh!!!!


  66. And apparently as being posted everywhere….the uselessness continues.

    Received from a source:

    “LETTER TO MIA MOTTLEY

    Dear Prime Minister Mottley,

    After voting with a sense of hope, and must I add confidence, for the Barbados Labour Party in the May 24th, 2018 general election, I am left with a heavy heart, hurting pockets, and laden with regret.

    Though I am still confident in your abilities and commend the considerable strides you have made since being elected to office, the discrepancies are beginning to outnumber the accomplishments – and overwhelmingly so. Therefore, I have taken the liberty to pen this letter and will continue to address my concerns in this format as warranted. It is my supplication that you heed the advice meted out.

    Prime Minister, my most pressing concern is the bloated cabinet, clueless advisors, and countless consultants you have sought to appoint to your administration. Your justification that “many hands make light work” has unfolded to be a ploy devised by Hartley Henry to maintain peace within your camp. Unfortunately, the success of that effort must have fallen short of your expectation given the ongoing efforts by some parliamentarians to undermine your leadership.

    Prime Minister, though to the surprise of many, I suggest that the $700,000.00 allocated to an unnamed company for a tourism slogan, which was later said to be Virgo Communications owned by your sister-in-law Stephanie von Oppen, should have been tagged to your administration. Indeed, the slogan with a slight amendment could better capture the performance of the 24 members whose collective monthly salary nears half a million dollars – “Little Results, Big Cabinet”.

    Despite the many many disparities in government, you continue to reward the incompetence of individuals like Henrietta Elizabeth Thompson with an ambassadorial appointment with responsibility for Climate Change, Small Island Developing States, and Law of the Sea. The terms of reference for this appointment are confusing and lead to an unsettling, incongruous layout of responsibilities, given “law of the sea” is no different than “maritime affairs” a ministerial portfolio held by Hon. Kirk Humphrey. Therefore, I ask in more simple terms, what leverage does Ambassador Thompson have on you?

    Prime Minister, with introspection I am certain you would recognize that Ambassador Thompson has been long perceived as a sweet-talking con artist, who adds no meaningful value to the Government’s foreign affairs portfolio. Barbadians were exasperated and profusely enraged by her political theatrics and pageantry in the press conferences while serving at the helm of a COVID-19 communications team. Therefore, it leaves one to question your ability to separate friendship from the proper management of our country’s affairs as you continue to celebrate Ambassador Thompson, a failed politician with consecutive disastrous showings, relegating your Government to a pappyshow with a clueless clown parading as if this is a circus.

    What is further anguishing, Prime Minister I am saddened that you were bullied by political fawner Dwayne Grazette for a consultancy position. Dwayne Grazette has no academic qualification, did not complete secondary education but disguises himself as an event promoter and charity worker. This is the same Dwayne Grazette who continues to misappropriate the funds and abuse the generosity of the Sandy Lane Charitable Trust to prey on teenage boys in areas such as Orleans, Chapman Lane, and Richmond Gap offering them money, clothes, and sneakers in exchange for sexual favors. Prime Minister if you are to salvage the integrity of your administration you must sever ties with these manipulators and pretenders.

    While I understand your effort to support buggers by way of avoiding a referendum, carefully disguising the immoral deed of same-sex marriage in a tactfully worded legislation for civil unions, those wealthy businessmen who rape the public purse should not be a part of your political brigade at a time where people are suffering and contracts should be tendered and received by suitably qualified and experienced enterprises. Sadly, there is no true hope coming to Landcaster, St. James for the displaced residents of White Hill who were promised the land but given they have no pedigree, Tony Hoyos, the boyfriend of Santia Bradshaw, was given the multimillion-dollar contract through the newly formed construction company.

    Prime Minister, while I could be lengthy and condemn individuals like Dominican fugitive Charles Jong who serves as your Director of Communications, or Roger Gill who suddenly is the construction magnate of urban and rural development, I pause to express concern with the formation of this Public Affairs Department, headed by Patricia Parris.

    It is alarming that your government would be emboldened to abuse the taxpayers’ money to employ a propaganda unit with a lurcher as Dalton Tyrone Lovell, Tyson Henry (the nephew of Hartley Henry) a known thimblerigger and a concubine like Crystal Austin. Sadly, no amount of window-dressing can hide the fact that yard fowls have come home to roost, and affiliation with individuals like drug lord Ross Ashton and entertainer Lil Rick has been to your detriment.

    Prime Minister, you must incline your own heart to common sense and understand that these behaviors and practices are unbecoming of a woman who possesses political tact, and should you persist your popularity will continue to plummet to the bottomless chasm, bringing your colorful reign to an abrupt end.

    Sincerely,
    Uncle Felix

    Felix Silbert Alfonso Scantlebury (fictional name) is a poor countryman with no university education but attended the school of hardknocks.”


  67. So therefore how COULD I with all the ANCESTRAL POWERS vested in my to SEE …not do something about these slimy, dirty tiefing fcukers on OUR continent, not know BEFORE THEY EVEN LEFT….that the intent is to POISON our ancestral lands with their evil nastiness and greed and corruption… how could i not know to prepare for them A YEAR AGO.

    i take my assignment very seriously..

    “While I understand your effort to support buggers by way of avoiding a referendum, carefully disguising the immoral deed of same-sex marriage in a tactfully worded legislation for civil unions, those wealthy businessmen who rape the public purse should not be a part of your political brigade at a time where people are suffering and contracts should be tendered and received by suitably qualified and experienced enterprises. Sadly, there is no true hope coming to Landcaster, St. James for the displaced residents of White Hill who were promised the land but given they have no pedigree, Tony Hoyos, the boyfriend of Santia Bradshaw, was given the multimillion-dollar contract through the newly formed construction company.”


  68. So therefore how COULD I with all the ANCESTRAL POWERS vested in ME to SEE ..

    they will try again, criminals never stop, and i will be just as ready…


  69. Savings up, loans down

    By Shawn Cumberbatch shawncumberbatch@nationnews.com

    Barbadian households have stashed away local currency worth at least $200 million in their savings accounts this year alone and are also borrowing less money from financial institutions.
    This was revealed in new Central Bank data, which suggested that the COVID-19 pandemic’s financial uncertainty triggered a surge in deposits by individuals and businesses.
    While individual Bajans were responsible for nearly half of the $405 million increase in domestic currency deposits at commercial banks, finance and trust companies and credit unions up to September 30, corporate Barbados had deposited most of the $218.1 million in foreign currency saved in that period.
    An overall $623 million has been deposited at financial institutions since the start of this year, threatening to surpass the $691.6 million saved last year.
    The Central Bank said: “Deposits grew by 4.8 per cent on account of higher domestic and foreign currency deposits. The main driver for domestic deposits was the household sector, which accounted for 48.1 per cent of the domestic currency growth.
    “Foreign currency accounts, which represented approximately 6.7 per cent of total deposits, were mainly driven by the business and financial sectors.
    “Foreign currency deposits grew as a result of activity in households and the business sector. The business sector’s increase in foreign currency deposits resulted from the legal and construction industries,” it added.
    Increased savings are occurring at the same time that households are taking out fewer loans, while new lending to companies has been limited.
    “Credit to the non-financial private sector during the first three quarters of 2021 fell by 1.4 per
    cent. Modest growth in new lending related to working capital for the hotel and restaurant and distribution sectors was outpaced by loan repayments,” the Central Bank reported.
    “Loan growth was recorded in the real estate sector primarily due to the extension of new credit. Loans to households continued on a downward trend as outstanding personal debt from mortgages continued to decline.”
    It added that “despite the increase in new credit card debt extended during the third quarter, outstanding credit card debt for the nine-month period was lower than the similar period last year”.
    Loans from deposit-taking institutions to the rest of the financial totalled $255.2 million at the end of the third quarter, down from $262.8 million in 2020. Credit to the non-financial private sector was $8.03 billion at the end of September versus $8.15 billion last year.
    The trend of reduced borrowing this year has continued on from 2020.
    The Central Bank reported that “with the ensuing economic contraction from the pandemic, the ratio of household lending to [gross domestic product] increased by approximately ten percentage points to represent 67.4 per cent of economic activity”.
    However, personal loans “declined by 1.2 per cent for the year, which represented 91 per cent of the overall contraction in the loan books of deposit-taking institutions”.

    Source: Nation


  70. Clerk: Chiding was unfair

    By Colville Mounsey
    colvillemounsey@nationnews.com

    Head of the Barbados Bankers’ Association, Anthony Clerk, is pushing back against criticisms levied against the banks’ high automated teller machine (ATM) and user fees as well as low interest on savings.
    Categorising them as “unfair”, he said they did not accurately reflect the realities within the financial services sector.
    Last week Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley said that apart from the issue of fees, the low interest paid on savings accounts and below-par loan to deposit ratio basically relegated the banking sector to “watchmen” over people’s monies.
    However, Clerk told the Sunday Sun that low interest rates on savings were as a result of a low appetite for borrowing in a depressed economy.
    “I definitely do not think that this is a fair comment. Speaking generally for the banking community, I can tell you that there is not a lot of demand for loans. This is the reality of the situation, and it should not be surprising to anyone because we are going through a pandemic.
    “It is a very uncertain time for all of us, so obviously developers and would-be borrowers are adopting a cautious wait-and-see approach. So, the bank does not have a long line of people coming to borrow money, even though we would love to lend because that is the business that we are in. If we don’t lend, we can’t make interest,” Clerk explained.
    The Prime Minister said last Wednesday that a loans/deposit ratio of 55 per cent, when the developed world was at 80 per cent, was an untenable situation. However, Clerk said that while this was true, it was not a position of the banking sector’s making, but a reflection of the economic realities.
    “The Prime Minister spoke of our loans/ deposit ratio being low and she is correct; it is less than we would like it to be. We actually have targets, and we are below those targets for the loan to deposit ratio. We don’t want to be there, but that is the reality of the economy in which we operate.
    “Look at the projects which the Prime Minister herself has touted. Those projects have not started because the developers are taking a cautious approach and that is understandable in the current environment,” he said.
    The president pointed out that the low returns on savings was also tied into the low appetite for loans.
    Free market
    “That would have started when they removed the minimum savings rates and once they did that, they allowed the free market system to work. It comes down to supply
    and demand and right now there is a whole lot of supply of money. The banks are all very liquid and when the supply is more than the demand, the price goes down, which in this case is the interest rates. If the economy was to start to heat up again, we might see that situation change where banks have to be paying to raise deposits because of strong loan demand.”
    As it relates to ATM and user fees, Clerk said that contrary to public perception, the cap announced by Central Bank Governor Cleviston Haynes was not forced upon the banking sector, but was a mutual agreement.
    Haynes, during his third quarter economic review on Tuesday, said that following complaints from Barbadians, the Central Bank had intervened to mandate that from November 1, these financial institutions charge no more than $3 per transaction when customers use ATMs other than those owned by their bank or credit union.
    There will also be no charges when shoppers use their Visa and Mastercard debit cards at businesses with point-of-sale terminals, he added.
    Clerk said: “It sort of came across from the Governor that this was something that was forced on the banks, but that was not in fact the case. This was something that came out of amicable discussions and negotiations and the banks are quite comfortable with it. In getting to this point, one has to bear in mind that fees are something banks keep very confidential; we don’t discuss it amongst ourselves because we are competing. So the banks would not have known what the other was doing and we would not have all been at the same place, having submitted our proposals to the Central Bank.”

    Source: Nation


  71. Why yall lowlife don’t pay these people their money though.

    https://www.nationnews.com/2021/10/31/former-liat-workers-still-waiting-severance/

    “Eighteen months after being severed, 94 former LIAT workers are still awaiting their severance.

    And in an effort to get some form of relief, the pilots, flight attendants, engineers and other former employees are calling once more on the Barbados Government to make a case on their behalf.”


  72. Cool it with the banks
    THERE WILL BE NO public response from the banks; they do not operate like that. You can talk as much as you like, their lips are sealed. They may talk at a meeting of the Governor of the Central Bank, but not in public or to the media. The Wild Coot being a wild coot owes nobody anything and does not pay taxes for his mouth.
    Above all, what are they to do with the $10 billion in their banks consisting of, inter alia, National Insurance, deposits of credit unions, pension funds, insurance companies and so on? The fact that the money is there does not mean they have to use it. Way back when, banks used to charge for keeping people’s money. We cannot say that we have the best environment for the banks to lend.
    There are a few underlying problems that we have to think about before we start pitting the banks against the small man even in an election mode. There is the propensity to save but not to invest that is endemic among Barbadians. Just look at participants of the stock exchange. People may buy Government bonds, but little else.
    The operation of the Barbados Savings Bank was a prime example. It even had a branch in England where Barbadians placed their savings in the diplomatic pouch to be put in an account at Fairchild Street. I believe that Prime Minister Owen Arthur sold the balance of shares of the Barbados National Bank because people would not invest in shares in the bank.
    Opportunities for lending to Barbadians are limited as Barbadians are risk averse. In my two years of lending here I can attest to that. Although you will find small borrowers who go to Fund Access, projects that would utilise the savings are not there. Besides, banks have reduced the cost of training local staff for assessment locally. When last have we seen a bank manager who can tell you over the phone that you can have an overdraft of $10 000 unsecured to go for an urgent operation? When last have we seen a bank manager out in the hot sun inspecting a proposed site for a construction project or monitoring the operations of a business?
    Local mortgages with tourism uncertainty have given the banks problems also and exacerbated the profitability of mortgage loans. The banks facilitated mortgage payments for workers in the tourism industry. This means that banks had reduced profit and had to make it up somewhere else – to pay their own staff. Therefore, the banks are seeking profitability in other areas such as commission, credit cards and technology.
    Will not lend
    Unless there are opportunities that the banks consider worthy, they will not lend, and the Central Bank can do nothing about it. If it mandates charges
    that the banks deem unprofitable, they will just leave. Shareholders have a say in this, not only our regulators.
    But we had an opportunity to buy a bank since this Government was elected, as there were banks in difficulties where the price was within our range. Competition is the only way in which to control a bank. I have preached it here ad nauseum.
    Now instructions to the Governor of the Central Bank to micromanage the commercial banks may sound good but will land us in problems. If the banks cannot operate profitably in the eyes of the shareholders, they will leave. We have seen signs of this already. Lately CIBC had made its intentions known by offering to bankroll another bank. It does not seem that permission has been granted to sell the operation in Barbados; however, the branches in other islands may be sold off to various indigenous banks. Thus, we already see the intentions of the foreign banks.
    We may be left in the hands of Republic Bank if the other banks leave. We should recall who were the first banks to reduce the interest rate on savings. We should make note of the limited lending authority that depends on control abroad before we find ourselves with reduced banking operations.
    While I too consider that the charges of commission of commercial banks are high, I think that we need to show the banks there is a way in which profitable banking can be conducted with a different outreach.
    The art of banking consists of very fine margins. In this respect, it cannot be left to the Central Bank to micromanage, only to set broad guidelines. Be warned!
    Our wills and fates do so contrary run That our devices still are overthrown; Our thoughts are ours, their end none of our own.
    – Hamlet, Shakespeare
    Harry Russell is a banker. Email quijote70@gmail.com.

    Source: Nation


  73. The art of banking consists of very fine margins. In this respect, it cannot be left to the Central Bank to micromanage, only to set broad guidelines. Be warned

    Xxxxxx
    In other words Buyers be ware of the new policy set by the Governor of the Central Bank which has given directives to the Bank to reduce fees
    Xxxxx
    When things are done on a slate built on a political agenda
    All must sit back and await the blow back resonating from the naked truth

    Wild Coot Editorial contains much food for thought both for the customer and as well as govt


  74. It would be of an interest built on Transparency if the details as to how govt was able to convince the bank to reduce the fees to a guaranteed rate
    Reason being to avoid surprises of the kind which will affect the customer bottom line negatively


  75. DavidNovember 1, 2021 8:12 AM

    Do you understand what Russell is saying in his article?

    Xxxxxx
    No I am illiterate of all.things reason why I can invest my money and get a decent return
    Reason why I can pay off my debts including my home
    Reason why I spend only what I can afford
    Reason why I can sit comfortable and be financial secured
    Next


  76. DavidNovember 1, 2021 1:13 PM

    “I am illiterate …”

    You said it, not the blogmaster

    No I am illiterate of all.things reason why I can invest my money and get a decent return
    Reason why I can pay off my debts including my home
    Reason why I spend only what I can afford
    Reason why I can sit comfortable and be financial secured
    Next
    Can u your financial portfolio match this illiterate s
    If so spread it across the BU economic table
    Then al can get a fair assement of what it takes to be an illiterate
    BTW on my way to invest Ina vacation home


  77. Rate This
    FrankNovember 1, 2021 2:02 PM

    BTW on my way to invest Ina vacation home…where? In Florida?

    Xxxxx
    None of yuh god dam business


  78. DavidNovember 1, 2021 2:36 PM

    Steuspe

    Xxxc some of wuna get up in here and talk big and ain’t got toilet paper to wipe wunna backside

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