Tuesday December 11th, 2018: The Caribbean Association of Banks (CAB) has noted the concerns of the public and private sectors with respect to the proposed sale of Scotiabank’s banking operations in nine (9) Caribbean Countries to Republic Financial Holding Limited (RFHL). While some of these concerns may be well founded, the CAB views this development as a positive opportunity for the Regional Financial Services Sector. The Region has, in its history, experienced migration, acquisition and consolidation of both locally owned…
The Caribbean Association of Banks voices support for Compliance with OECD/FATF Tax Standards.
Monday November 26th, 2018: The Caribbean Association of Banks (CAB) fully supports the Bankers Association of Trinidad and Tobago’s (BATT) efforts to have its Parliament enact the necessary legislation for compliance with international Exchange of Information on Request (EOIR) and Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) standards, as directed by the OECD’s Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes, and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). As highlighted by the BATT, “Failure to pass this legislation could…
The Caribbean Association of Banks Supports CARICOM in Regional Integration Efforts
Thursday September 6th, 2018: The Caribbean Association of Banks (CAB) commends the Council for Finance and Planning (COFAP) for reaffirming the commitment towards the Caribbean Single Market and Economy and its significance for the regional financial sector, at the 6th Special Meeting of the Council on 4th September 2018 in Barbados. The CAB views the resolution taken at this meeting as a step in the right direction to re-energize the regional integration commitment. The CAB is pleased to note that…
Barbados PM warns of job losses but promises no callous cuts.
Prime Minister Mia Mottley has stated that as the country moves forward with its restructuring plans, job cuts in the public sector are inevitable. However, she went on to state that there would be no callous layoffs and that the Government would make provision to cushion the blow for those affected. Dismissing claims by the former Central Bank Governor, Dr. DeLisle Worrell, that thousands of job cuts would be necessary, Mottley stated that other forms of restructuring would be employed.…
Guyana’s Economy grew by 4.5 percent in first half of 2018.
The Minister of Finance of Guyana, Winston Jordan, has announced that the country grew by 4.5 percent in the first half of 2018 and year-end growth is projected to be 3.7 percent. The growth in the economy was broad-based and driven by various sectors such as: Agriculture 3.4 percent, livestock 29.1 percent, forestry 18.1 percent, services 8.2 percent, construction 13.4 per cent and extractive industries (except gold which fell by 19 percent) averaged 26 per cent growth. Read more HERE…
Central Bank of The Bahamas hopes to have digital fiat currency in circulation in 30 months.
The Central Bank of The Bahamas has issued an invitation for the submission of Expressions of Interest (EOI) from suitable firms to work on the design of a reliable platform for a digital version of the Bahamian Dollar. The Bank anticipates that the piloted version of the digital currency will be in circulation within thirty (30) months. Read more HERE…
Caribbean aims to become the world’s first Climate-Smart Zone.
The Caribbean Climate-Smart Accelerator was officially launched on 9th August 2018. The accelerator brings together twenty-six (26) countries and over forty (40) private sector partners to implement transformative climate action across the Caribbean. The initiative comes from the first commitment of Emmanuel Macron’s One Planet Summit which aims to respond to the extreme natural events in the Island States via the mobilization of USD 3 billion in public-private partnerships within a USD 8 billion investment plan. Read the following links for…
NCB Jamaica makes Record Profits
NCB Financial Group, parent of National Commercial Bank Jamaica recorded profits in excess of USD 157 million representing an increase of 40 percent over the same period in the previous year (ended June 30). This represents the bank’s best performance to date. The Bank’s expenses also increased by 37% for the same period, while net loans and advances increased by 70% over the previous year. Non-performing loans also increased from 2.6% to 4.8% in the same period. The Directors declared…
Grenada PM assumes Chairmanship of the ECCU
The Prime Minister of Grenada, Dr. Keith Mitchell has assumed the chairmanship of the ECCU, replacing Dominica’s PM, Roosevelt Skerrit. Mitchell claims that during his tenure he will be addressing issues such as Fiscal and Debt Resilience, De-risking, Bank fees and charges, establishing the ECCU Credit Bureau and fintech regulation and supervision. Read more HERE…
OECD Publishes New Tax Report
The OECD has published the report on the progress of implementation OECD tax standards. The document reports on the activities of the tax agenda for the period 2017-2018 and well as the progress which has been made therein by the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax purposes. Some snippets are as follows: 1.) By June 2018 (from 2009), jurisdictions would have identified EUR 93 billion in additional revenue due to tax transparency initiatives; 2.) Concerning the…