My brother shot himself in the foot while trying to kill a snake that was minding his own business in Belize. Shooting yourself in the foot has a sister expression, cutting off your nose to spite your face. The first expression, oft used in corporate scenarios, is behavior that makes things worse for yourself as you attempt to accomplish something else, often mundane.
This phrase has useful application in the distorted world of bank deposit insurance in the Caribbean. To be clear, some island nations with a priority on protecting citizens and visitors, have protection of the bank deposits by customers to some degree. Surprisingly, one of the biggest tax havens in the Caribbean, has absolutely no deposit insurance for the money of bank customers.
Forewarned is forearmed.
Distracted by such lesser matters as the grey list, more expensive oversight bodies, know your customer policies and other bureaucratic growth industries, Cayman policy makers have dropped the ball in safeguarding the financial future of voters. The local regulator, Cayman Islands Monetary Authority or CIMA has failed miserably, despite the early tremors from the Silicon Valley Bank disaster.
Some of the Caribbean country deposit insurance amounts in US dollars are:
British Virgin Islands 100,000
Bahamas 50,000
Trinidad 30,000
Jamaica 7,500
Cayman Islands 0
As the editor likes to say, where happened to our bite?
For all it’s limitations, Jamaica is head and shoulders above so called financial centers with bank deposit insurance and hurricane insurance, so much so that there are cries to copy their leadership. They have fallen miserably in financial oversight in cases such as the missing millions of the Usain Bolt Scandal regulated in part by a CIMA alumni.
There will also be cries of greater priorities, under discussion, consultant reports or other political side stepping. The world is changing, not in a good way, with policy often being set in Washington.
Perilous times command greater protection of the pocket.
Governments have a duty, not only to cover the hard earned savings of people, but to ensure it is of a substantial amount.
Luckily, the country has had decades of solid service from the Canadian banks that have
$100,000 coverage in their home country as well that invaluable advisor, reputation. The recently Trinidadian acquired Cayman National Bank will have to make their own way.
A stitch in time.
Notes
Peter Polack is a former criminal lawyer from the Cayman Islands for several decades. His books are The Last Hot Battle of the Cold War: South Africa vs. Cuba in the Angolan Civil War (2013), Jamaica, The Land of Film (2017) and Guerrilla Warfare: Kings of Revolution (2019). He was a contributor to Encyclopedia of Warfare (2013). His latest book is a compendium of Russian espionage activities with almost five hundred Soviet spies expelled from nearly 100 countries worldwide 1940-88.
His views are his own.
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