Dear Editor:
“GOD BLESS THE MERGER OF CCB AND NBA”
Thanks to the overwhelming number of proud and patriotic citizens of Anguilla, the NCBA (National Commercial Bank of Anguilla) has had a successful opening week. Despite the calls by politicians, and others, the business of the bank was conducted without any major difficulties.
And many people were glad to hear that there was no massive withdrawal of funds as was advocated by opponents of the Government. It was business as usual as the hardworking folks of Anguilla continued to use the bank to transact their daily business. One woman was heard saying: “Thanks to our Government for saving our hard earned money, so that we do not have to beg our bread today”.
That lady’s remarks were a reminder of the prime reason for the merging of the two banks (CCB and NBA). The banks were merged to protect the hard-earned savings of the poor man and woman. If they were not merged the poor man and woman would have been penniless today. God bless the merger.
The backdrop to the merger of the banks was the failure of many of the big-shot borrowers to pay back their loans – thus putting the banks in danger of not being able to repay their depositors (the people who had put their monies there for safekeeping). Many of the big boys had borrowed money which they did not pay back thus leaving the banks virtually bankrupt. The big boys broke the banks when they did not pay back their loans – defaulted on their loans – and so Government had to intervene to make sure that whatever little money was left had to be protected so that the savings of the poor and needy were not wiped out completely.
What is most hypocritical about this whole episode is that most of the persons who raped the banks of the people’s money are the same ones who are calling on the public to withdraw their support from the NCBA so that it could fail. Most of them owed the CCB and NBA thousands and are hell bent to make sure that the NCBA collapses, but there is every indication that the NCBA is here to stay.
I now call upon the hardworking people of Anguilla not to be misled by the preachers of gloom and doom. They are big time failures – big time debtors – who want the NCBA to collapse in the hope that they would not be called upon to payback the many thousands they owe. I must add that it is shameful that some of the leaders of the failed banks, who benefitted much from them, are among the principal persons calling on members of the public to turn their backs on the NCBA. Actually, some of them have mounted a 24-hour campaign to ensure that the bank collapses. But it will not collapse because the ordinary Anguillian citizen has faith in it, and most of them are saying: “It’s our bank, and we are not going to abandon it. We have put our money and trust in it and it has our confidence”.
Many people across the island are of the view that all those who are working and praying for the failure of the NCBA, do not have Anguilla at heart. If they did, they would not want the bank to fail – because if the bank fails Anguilla fails.
I support the merger of the banks because its principal objective is the protection of the livelihood of the ordinary Anguillian woman and man. If Government did not take such action, the ordinary Anguillian woman and man would have been left penniless. For that I say: “GOD BLESS THE MERGER OF CCB AND NBA”. It should have been sooner rather than later.
Sincerely
I love Anguilla
(Published without editing by The Anguillian newspaper.)
