January 21, 2020
Honourable Victor Banks
Premier
Government of Anguilla
P.O. Box 60
he Valley, Anguilla AI-2640
Re: Pensions For Former Employees of CCB and NBA
Dear Honourable Premier:
It has been brought to my attention and to the attention of several of my colleagues that despite repeated promises, the pension entitlements of the employees of the two former locally-owned banks are being unreasonably withheld. We have listened as time and again we have been explained to in great detail how this unreasonable action has deeply impacted these individuals and the extent to which their lives have been affected.
Indeed it is becoming more and more apparent that these individuals are desperately relying on their hard earned monies to repay their loans and mortgages and more importantly to safeguard their homes and land against imminent foreclosure. We have been approached by former employees of both institutions with more urgent pleas coming particularly from those of the former CCB, who with deep fervor maintain that their pensions were held for their benefit and managed by trustees in deposit accounts (both savings and term deposits) and which accounts were in full operation with pensioners receiving entitlements on a monthly basis at the time of the resolution.
It is further stated that these deposits were arbitrarily removed from the deposits that were otherwise placed in NCBA or the Deposit Protection Trust (DPT) and instead unlawfully transferred to the Receiver. Also, we have been informed that there has been promise after promise made to these former employees of CCB and NBA with none being kept to date.
In your most recent letter to the employees of both former institutions and dated December 18, 2019, you have indicated that the Government of Anguilla is the Settlor. Therefore, it is incumbent on you to alleviate the undue stress and hardship caused to these former employees and issue a firm date by the which they can expect to receive full settlement as this matter has been drawn out far too long. These citizens of Anguilla who you are bound to serve have waited almost four (4) years for an answer and patience has all but run thin. Time is of the essence and the letter you have written leaves much to be desired being contrary to the promises made prior.
What affects the employees of the former local banks, affects the people of Anguilla. They are our sons and daughters, our brothers and sisters, our aunts and uncles, our nieces and nephews, and for many of our aspiring young people, the future of our nation, they are our fathers and mothers. We cannot sit back and see countless of our brightest minds demoralized. In some cases, these funds are urgently needed to secure medical attention and recovery therapy, repay medical bills and secure additional services, meet daily living expenses and for several to save their homes from foreclosure. It is even more unthinkable that the financial institutions have chosen to further denigrate many of these former employees by issuing them demand notices and foreclosure notices.
At the time of the Banking Resolution, there were over one hundred and twenty (120) employees at the NBA and almost sixty (60) employees at the CCB. They were all promised by you, in person, in the presence of all their colleagues and other Government and ECCB officials, that none would lose their job. They were further promised that if for any reason the bank needed to resize at any point in the immediate or future, that they would be absorbed into the civil service. This was your word and it was evidently presumed that your word could be trusted.
As the sole shareholder of NCBA, the Government of Anguilla has therefore caused and continues to cause irreparable harm to those who have given over ten years, over twenty years and in some cases over thirty years of service to these financial institutions and by extension built the financial structure of Anguilla that has now been significantly eroded.
Thank you for your attention and urgent consideration. We await your response as the former employees of NBA and CCB directly affected by the non-payment of their pensions, their families, and the rest of Anguilla who empathize with them, need an urgent resolution to this crucial matter.
Sincerely,
Ellis Lorenzo Webster
Leader, Anguilla Progressive Movement
cc. His Excellency Tim Foy, Governor; Media
