Barbados adhering to global financial standards

BARBADOS has undertaken a rigorous programme to ensure it is not to found wanting when it comes to adhering to global financial standards.

Sadie Dixon, Acting Bank Secretary of the Central Bank of Barbados, put the matter in perspective yesterday morning during a presentation at a breakfast seminar on the subject of “De-risking in the Commercial Banking Sector”.

She also used the occasion to reject a suggestion by economist Ryan Straughan that not enough is being done at the highest level to safeguard the country from the threats created by re-risking and the loss of correspondent banking relations.

The Barbados International Business Association and the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry hosted the breakfast meeting at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Conference Centre.
Stating that Barbados is fully engaged at the highest level, Ms. Dixon pointed to this country’s involvement with the Financial Stability Board, while the Governor of the Bank sits on a committee dealing with these matters. There is also a working paper prepared by former Governor, Dr. Delisle Worrell that addresses the issue of de-risking.

“So we are engaged with all of the bodies,” she assured.

“We have gone through our BASEL requirements, we are making sure that we are complying with the standards, we have gone through IMF and World Bank financial assessment programmes done every four years, and where gaps have been noted and located, we try to plug those gaps,” the Central Bank of Barbados official declared.

Dixon remarked further that Barbados has done its mutual evaluation assessments, and that agencies including the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) have been offering technical assistance to Caribbean countries to assist with making sure that mutually valuation results are on par with global standards, and then the OECD Peer Review process.

“So the point is that countries are engaged and we getting good grades, we are passing the mark, but yet, the challenge continues and we are still being re-risked,” she declared.

The Central Bank official believes that there must be something more at play. She said that this region has been hit hard by the loss of correspondent banking relationships. This has also affected remittances. (JB)