Chief Minister Banks
After two and-a-half-years of the banking resolution in Anguilla, the Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, Mr. Timothy Antoine, has praised the National Commercial Bank of Anguilla (NCBA) for the excellent progress it has made, and continues to make.
He expressed his pleasure with NCBA at a hastily-called press conference in the Executive Council’s Chambers where he held routine discussions with the Government on Wednesday, September 5.
“The last time we had a press conference, we did indicate that certain resources would come into NCBA,” he reminded the media representatives. “You might recall that we spoke about the frozen funds at Bank of America and these were released; and then we spoke about the ultimate release of funds from the Caribbean Development Bank to assist with the full capitalisation of the National Commercial Bank of Anguilla.
“The fact that those funds of 59 million dollars have been disbursed from CDB through the ECCB, to NCBA, is a very important milestone in our resolution process. It means that we have made sufficient progress on the issue that the Chief Minister mentioned as ‘a put back arrangement’ so that these funds can be released. But it is not just the release of these funds. It is what these funds are intended to help NCBA do.
“We have always maintained that the National Commercial Bank of Anguilla, as the largest bank in Anguilla, has a very important role to play in the recovery of the country. And of course, to do that, it has to have the financial wherewithal, the resources, to be able to engage in appropriate lending and to support certain economic activities in the country. So, for us, the release of the funds really is a welcome development because it positions the National Commercial Bank of Anguilla to do more to support the recovery of Anguilla…If Anguilla continues to improve, and to grow, as we fully expect, then the National Commercial Bank of Anguilla will also grow. It is important that, in supporting Anguilla, NCBA will also benefit from Anguilla’s growth and development.”
Mr. Antoine added: “We thank all the parties that have been working with us on this issue. NCBA was set up about two-and-a-half-years ago and I recall at the press conference that the Chief Minister and I shared that we would be with Anguilla all the way. This is not something where we would make a statement and leave. We have never left. We do not plan to leave. We will continue to work with you as real partners in this enterprise. We have been meeting on an ongoing basis for the last two- and-a-half-years on the progress of NCBA and the overall progress of th Government with respect to certain policies that would support NCBA and the growth of Anguilla.
“We are pleased that we are at the stage now where that process has proceeded to the point where the funds have been released. Our expectation is that Anguilla will see further growth and based on the initial numbers that I have been told of, and have seen, there appears to be clearly some uptake in the market and we anticipate that that will continue.
“We will continue to encourage NCBA to continue to improve its operations. It has made significant and steady progress on a number of issues in its operations since it was first established two-and-a-half-years ago. We are encouraged by that progress and we feel that the resources available in NCBA can, and should, do more to support Anguilla’s recovery.”
Chief Minister and Minister of Finance, Mr. Victor Banks, was pleased that the banking resolution in Anguilla had reached a final stage and that NCBA was on its way to achieving more progress going forward.
Meanwhile, Mr. Banks expressed thanks to the Governor of the ECCB for the one million dollars that the sub-regional organisation had donated to Anguilla following Hurricane Irma and a further 700,000 dollars to finance a school IT Lab in Anguilla. The ECCB Governor took the opportunity to commend Anguilla for its recovery in one year since the hurricane. He was also pleased that the UK Government had released the 60 million pounds in humanitarian aid.
