By NATARIO McKENZIE
Tribune Business Reporter
nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net
THE CENTRAL Bank yesterday announced the temporary relaxation of lending guidelines to domestic banks to facilitate access to credit by households and businesses on islands ravaged by Hurricane Dorian.
The Central Bank in a notice on its website said: “In the aftermath of the significant damages caused by Hurricane Dorian to several northern Bahama Islands and to facilitate access by households and businesses to credit facilities in those islands for relief purposes, the Central Bank of The Bahamas announces the temporary relaxation of lending guidelines to domestic banks.”
According to the regulator, banks are advised that in respect of hurricane relief facilities, the mandatory 15 percent equity contribution will not apply. The Central Bank also stated the threshold debt service ratio of 40 percent to 45 percent is waived for distressed borrowers.
“Banks may adopt flexible but prudent arrangements in line with borrowers’ financial capacity. The Central Bank will continue to monitor the situation and advise of any further change in this policy,” the bank said.
The Central Bank also said yesterday it is committed to supporting both the spiritual and financial recovery of the country and will make a donation of $250,000 to hurricane relief efforts.
“The Bank will also match financial donations made by its employees. The Bank looks forward to a similar spirit of generosity from the rest of the financial community. The Governor, Board of Directors and staff of the Central Bank of The Bahamas continues to pray for the comfort and relief of all persons and families throughout our archipelago touched by this storm,” the bank said.
Comments
Well_mudda_take_sic 5 years, 2 months ago
Let's please try avoid allowing our nation's entire domestic banking system to be taken down by the cataclysmic devastation in Abaco and Grand Bahama.
Well_mudda_take_sic 5 years, 2 months ago
Let's please try avoid allowing our nation's entire domestic banking system to be taken down by the cataclysmic devastation in Abaco and Grand Bahama. The Central Bank should refrain from encouraging charitable giving disguised as bank loans and advances that would only result in an increased level of loan loss provisioning and/or loan write-offs and a deficiency in bank capital.
PM Minnis and DPM Turnquest will be pressuring the government-owned Bank of The Bahamas (BoB) to make de facto 'charitable' loans and advances to Grand Bahamians. The Dorian aftermath crisis leaves BoB prone to being used by our corrupt politicians as a mechanism for making charitable contributions disguised as loans and advances to the select chosen few muck-a-mucks who need to rebuild their homes and businesses in Grand Bahama. Down the road these de facto charitable loans and advances (together with unpaid accrued interest owing) will be deemed uncollectible and transferred to Bahamas Resolve with Bahamian taxpayers left to bear the burden of additional capital injections required by BoB from the public purse. This of course is tantamount to the Minnis-led FNM government forcing all Bahamian taxpayers to bear the burden of de facto charitable contributions made by government through BoB to the select chosen few politically connected muck-a-mucks.
Just ask yourself: How many conflict of interest disclosures have been made in the HOA in connection with cabinet ministers and other parliamentarians (MPs and Senators) having a direct or indirect interest in credit facilities extended by BoB, including facilities granted to their family members and companies controlled and/or beneficially owned by them and/or their family members (?)
Well_mudda_take_sic 5 years, 2 months ago
The fact that Minnis has kept BoB's doors open for business after the mega millions of dollars of taxpayer bailouts it has so far received because of corrupt lending practices involving politically-connected persons is a very telling thing. Our governments are well known to be corrupt and therefore should never have any kind of controlling or influential ownership interest in a commercial bank.
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