Prime Minister Gaston Browne says a sale Scotiabank Antigua to Republic Bank of Trinidad and Tobago was off the cards when he met with officials from both banks on Friday.
Browne said he reiterated to the officials,
“We do not need Scotiabank to come with any paternalistic posture to tell us that they going to get Republic to manage the bank on our behalf because that was the information that they shared with the other leaders within the OECS,” Browne told his radio station over the weekend.
“As I said to the chairman of Republic Bank we have the capacity so to do and we do not need republic bank to come and manage any assets for us,” he added.
The prime minister said also assured Scotia that the jobs of workers would be safe under local management.
Scotiabank wants to sell its assets in Antigua to the Trinidad-based Republic Bank but the prime minister says it will not happen under his watch.
Advertise with the mоѕt vіѕіtеd nеwѕ ѕіtе іn Antigua!
We offer fully customizable and flexible digital marketing packages.
Contact us at [email protected]
Who this man think he is? Who tell him we as depositors want a consortium of local Banks to manage our deposits. What he think this is state insurance where they can run wool over unsuspecting people eyes and do what he please!
He is the Prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda. And I for one don’t need another Trinidad Company to walk away with my money. While BAICO / CLICO paid off their people in Trinidad they can not payoff anyone in Antigua because they do not have the foreign exchange capacity.
well said. The PM always stands up for Antigua, but those traitors will appose him even when he does that. They putting Party before Country.
I agree 100% with PM Browne on this strategy. Antigua is too small to let these foreign banks determine our future. PM knows that for Antigua to survive as a small nation in the future, we need to have our own banks that can navigate the racist banking systems of the US and EU.
Law suit in the making and this government will loose bably except if the corrupt system works in their favor! Mark my words!
So he gave Chine 5 acres of land for $1 dollar, but want to block a Black nation from acquiring business in the same CARICOM union?.Scotia Bank is under NO obligation to give the government first refusal unless this was written in a contract when they first opened business or anytime since. Take it to WTO, CARICOM, COMMONWEALTH, CCJ. Trinidadians should also sue him for racism under the Human Rights Act!.
You mean the same Black Nation that took over $300million of our money and fled with it. Leaving many of us poor for the rest of our lives. Some even committed suicide. Give me a break. Giving China 5 acres to build an embassy the biggest in the region is only a small token compared to the many gifts and grant we have received from them and what more is to come
Tell me when you have your CONsortium in place and I will be the first to make sure whatever money I have in Scotia is withdrawn!
When a government interferes in private sales and contracts to dictate how these deals will go, THAT is a communist government. This government has become so arrogant and pompous that it actually believes that it has the right to dictate whether private transactions will happen and which banks Antiguans must put their money. Be careful! Communist dictatorship is here. Next thing the government will mandate that all Antiguans must go to university at the UWI Five Islands Campus to prop it up financially otherwise you are an economic terrorist.
That’s visionary and fearless Leadership… True leaders lead not in comfort but stands out in conflict and confusion.
One of the mouth pieces who normally comes on first spreading his VIEW is questioning today January 29 whether in a sale of scotia bank people time can be just transferred over to a new company without any compensation. As dunce as I am let me ask were these same questions asked when the insurance company of Redcliffe Street changed its status from a Statutory Body to a Private Company?
As old people say jumbie know who to frighten!
I AGREE WITH THE PRIME MINISTER 100%.
MY ONLY WISH IS THAT HE APPLIES THIS KNOWLEDGE ACROSS THE SPECTRUM SUCH AS:
BARBUDA
V C BIRD AIRPORT
CUSTOMS
ST JOHN’S PORT
JOLLY BEACH
HALCYON COVE
please feel free to add to the list….THE PRIME MINISTER IS ABSOLUTELY CORRECT WITH THIS ONE…..
If you think Barbudans are dumb enough to sit back and let a dictator sell us to the highest bidder, then you really don’t know us!….you can join him in eating noodles and honey glazed cockroach because we NAAR NYAM DAT!!!.
You have not said/listed why you agree with the PM and it would be enlightening if you elaborated on the “this knowledge” that should be applied to your list. Many of us heard the recording of Mr. Jerry S. George (from St. Vincent) very knowledgably and clearly listing the very valid reasons as to why this interference into the sale of (an international bank) Nova Scotia’s assets by PM GB is a dangerous and ludicrous thing to do especially with regard to our very fragile relationship with corresponding banks overseas…and in that respect I think we all need to remember that Antigua is a pin head sized dependent island that does not exactly have a great reputation in the departments of passport selling, money laundering and corruption in general.
With the exception of The Antigua Commercial Bank, our track record where it relates to local banks are not good. And it is frightening when a Government who can’t even get its act together wants to get into or at least have a say in the running of a bank. It really spells disaster to here the PM dispel the intention of Republic Bank to take over the assets of Scotia Bank in favour of some local consortium. Disaster here in the making!
I hope GOAB knows that Washing machines are for clothes NOT peoples hard earned money…
The PM is correct with this one for sure….there are bloggers who may not align/like the PM and GoAB and mostly criticizing of what he said. He is dam if he do and dam if he don’t. What is wrong if there are local banks here especially ACB that can pay whatever Scotia is asking? Some bloggers are even stating that the government is taking or trying to run the bank which id further from the truth. Is it that hard to understand that the government is only facilitating our local bank/s to have access to what the Trinidad company attempting to secure? If the local bank/s are not able to acquire the Scotia sale for what they are asking, then yes another Caribbean company should have a go at it. Our country should ALWAYS be first in line when it comes to profit sharing. What can the Trinidad company do that ACB cannot do?
If an indigenous bank takes over it goes beyond just what Scotia Bank is asking when dealing with a group bank. Capital adequacy requirements now come into play which I doubt these local Banks have the capacity to put up. The requirements will move from a mere letter of comfort to actual capital outlay. Tell me which local bank will have that capital to meet these requirements when the very government at least on one occasion had to do a bail out!
Boss you really past your place. ACB. Their financial statements are available on their website for you to check. Anyway here is a 2015 related article (see New bank manager says ACB sound. KDERRICK, Published: October 2, 2015, Antigua Observer)
“We do not expect ACB to be affected in anyway. We are a very strong and profitable and very well capitalized bank, so we have no concerns at all in that regard, Hume said.
She noted that the bank has a capital adequacy ratio of 21 per cent, well above the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank’s requirement of 8 percent
You say dated? itS 2018 annual statements make clear the figure now stands at 26%. You forget this was the bank which joined with others to take over Bank of Antigua? It then later did the same with ABI Bank. Retained earnings currently stand at 100 million EC, Tier 1 capital: 167,229,186 By the way RFH (group comprehensive) its 12.5% as of their 2017 report. For Scotia its 25% (group) as of their 2017 head office in TNT report
I was going to respond to you but my battery is running low!
Is that your excuse. How sad. Its better you kept quiet and we wouldn’t know whether you read it or not
Indigenous banks in Antigua are poorly managed that’s is why they have to bring expats from outside. Credit underwriting standards are far from robust. Check their level of delinquency, welll above prudential norms. Whilst I am not as rich as the PM and my resources will not make or break a bank I for one will never put any money in an indigenous bank in Antigua.
Wanted to say more but yet my battery is running low again.
By the way also do you know it was because of concerns regarding these indegenous banks and the failure we had in Antigua and Anguilla why the ECCB had to come out with a new banking act.
This battery of mine!!!
So happy that Soctia nah get me money and dem nar get um me cant believe u people after ya c wat happen dey clico till want aru money fu go inna 1 trickydad bank aru haffu mad!!!!
As the saying goes “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.”
Comments are closed.