In a national radio broadcast on Tuesday, May 24, Chief Minister and Minister of Finance, Mr. Victor Banks, gave a comprehensive rundown of the Government’s resolution plan for the island’s local banking sector with the establishment of the National Commercial Bank of Anguilla (NCBA), just over a month ago.
He was responding to a protest march, staged the day before (Monday May 23), by a number of persons who claimed that their march “cuts across political lines”. Their letter, dated May 20, 2016, was addressed to Mr. Banks and copied to the other members of his Cabinet. It was signed by Mrs. Agnes Payne Fleming of South Hill and was read to Chief Minister Banks by retired Teacher, Mrs. Janice Hodge of Sachasses.
The correspondence, which appears on page 6 of this edition of The Anguillian, among other matters demanded a report by the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank about the reasons for the failure of the National Bank of Anguilla Ltd and the Caribbean Commercial Bank (Anguilla) Ltd; objected to a series of legislation passed in the House of Assembly relating to the banks; and objected to the implementation of the Banking Resolution – charging it was done without public consultation. The letter also made objection “as to the handling of the Banking Crisis by the Government of Anguilla and the Governor of Anguilla” and called for the fulfilment of the demands of the protesters “no later than Wednesday 25th May 2016”.
In addressing the protesters at their march, the Chief Minister said: “Thank you all very much for coming out and exercising our democratic right to protest to issues that affect you, the people of Anguilla. We are privilege to live in a community – society – where we can exercise democracy in this way. I note the comments that were presented to me…You will agree with me that they are extensive and will call for some reflection. I also note that you requested that I have a response by Wednesday, 25th of May. I will make every effort to ensure that I meet that deadline. It is important for you to recognise that whatever is produced in that document does not necessarily reflect all the issues that are involved in this process that we are undergoing. I appreciate and understand the time and effort producing this document for presentation here today. I thank you very much for it. I hope that now that you have given me the opportunity to read and hear the issues pres
ented, you will now be so kind as to give me the opportunity to make my response to them at the appropriate time.”
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Banks went on radio on Tuesday, May 24, when, among other matters, he addressed the main concerns raised by the protesters. The text of his broadcast is published on page 7 of this current edition of The Anguillian.
(Since his broadcast Mr. Banks also replied in writing to the protest letter, which is printed on page 6.)
Briefly, in his radio broadcast, Mr. Banks spoke about the importance of protecting the savings of local depositors in the two former banks and Government’s intention to assist offshore depositors whose claims are now a court matter.
On the protesters’ demand for the ECCB’s report on the banks, he repeated an earlier explanation that if they were asking for the ECCB’s internal report, it could not be circulated for public scrutiny “because of the confidential and proprietary nature of the information”. On the other hand, “if it is the ‘so-called’ forensic audit by Grant Thornton, an official redacted version has already been circulated”.
Commenting further on the letter, the Chief Minister said that while it “makes a number of sweeping inaccurate statements and false allegations, there is no smoking
gun;” that “nothing in the letter explains why they [the protesters] believe that neither the process nor the implementation of the process serves the best interest of the people of Anguilla and the greater good. Neither does it offer any good reason why they believe that a march to my office will do anything more than to suggest to the world community that there is an unstable situation in Anguilla.
“To put it bluntly one would get the impression that it is all about politics. There are absolutely no solutions being offered. Neither is there any recognition of the fact that at this late stage – when the implementation has been executed and in place – any reversal of the resolution, without a viable alternative, could spell disaster for this island that they claim to cherish so dearly”.
He further stated: “In short, the demands being put forward by the group…cannot be given any serious consideration…It makes a mockery of a serious process undertaken by the Government for the stabilization of an indigenous banking sector…May I therefore reasonably conclude that this whole march was designed by its leaders to destabilize Anguilla with the hope of bringing down the duly-elected Government.”
The Chief Minister added: “The Banking Resolution has already been implemented – the horse is already out of the stable. It is ridiculous to now demand its suspension without advancing any credible substantive reason.” 
