The Editor
The Anguillian:
Anguillians are more and more confused regarding the ongoing situation of our two indigenous banks. Endless arguments, grumblings and useless rhetoric only serve to incite people and make matters worse. The fact is there seems to be no one in Anguilla really qualified to operate a bank successfully, which could be a lot more complicated than running a ‘money shop.’ If Anguilla wants to play in the international finance markets we have to act accordingly.
Any local bank must be part of the international banking system and cannot operate as a single entity. This means having a governing system – the ECCB which in the end is responsible for our banks. No investor will deal with a money shop but must have secure contact within the international financial community. Without being connected to the international system a local bank is unable to cash/process a simple cheque from another country. No bank can stand alone if it hopes to do business with or encourage foreign investment. Could the finance minister or somebody who knows about these things explain these facts to Anguillians?? In simple layman’s language?
Joining the two banks would not solve anything. People of Anguilla worked hard to have two distinct banks and if they are run professionally these banks should be able to function separately.
The present disaster was seemingly caused by poor management. These persons were solely responsible for making proper lending decisions regarding your money! They blew it. Anguilla now needs someone who knows how to run a financial institution successfully, economic downturn or not. Maybe Management and Boards of Directors should be charged with mismanagement or something of the sort – they were responsible for shareholders’ and depositors’ funds! To avoid this situation from escalating further Anguilla definitely needs a financial overseer. We had a chance to oversee ourselves and ended up almost bankrupt. Maybe it was a good thing the ECCB came here two years ago or by this time there would be nothing left of our banks. Everybody needs help at some time or other. Note: for the first time in its history (1694 to present) the Bank of England hired a foreigner to be Governor of the Bank of England, July 01, 2013.
Let us get some help, try to fix what’s wrong and move forward. It’s the only way.
Thank you,
A Worried Anguillian
