Mar 2015 Financial News

SEC follows up IPO findings

Mar 05, 2015

SECURITIES and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman, Professor Patrick Watson, yesterday said the Commission is following up on the findings of its investigations into the First Citizens Initial Public Offering (IPO). Reiterating that its probe into the IPO is closed, Watson said “certain findings” were made.

He explained that morally and by law, the SEC is required to follow up on these findings. His position was supported by SEC CEO Wain Iton who indicated that a statement will be made to the public on this matter at the appropriate time.

Speaking with reporters on the First Citizens IPO, Finance Minister Larry Howai said he has not received a report from the SEC on its investigation as yet. Saying the SEC was best positioned to comment on this matter and must be allowed “to operate independently,” Howai, a former First Citizens Group CEO, said the procedure which now takes place is to “give the persons involved an opportunity to comment.”

Howai said after those persons comment, the SEC would “do some kind of a review and then they make some kind of a determination based on the responses that they got and what they found.”

“Then they move forward from there. They either decide there isn’t anything to pursue and they close their files on it or they decide there is something to be done and then they forward it to the relevant authorities, whether it is the DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions) or the police or whoever it is,” he explained.

Last April, then Attorney General (AG) Anand Ramlogan referred the First Citizens IPO to the SEC, the police and the DPP for investigation. Ramlogan, who was removed as AG by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar in a Cabinet reshuffle on February 2, referred the IPO to these authorities after it was revealed that former First Citizens Bank (FCB) Chief Risk Officer Phillip Rahaman purchased $12 million in shares in the IPO and later resold them. Howai yesterday also said he was unaware of the reasons why FCB wanted its audited financial statements to be reviewed by the Public Accounts Enterprises Committee (PAEC) in-camera and not in a public hearing.

“I do know that they would not be able to share customer information because that would be against the law,” he said.

Howai speculated that if this was the issue, “they may have suggested to the PAEC that questions along those lines would be in breach of common law practice as well as the law.” First Citizens is expected to announce Karen Darbasie as its new Group CEO at its annual general meeting at the Hilton Trinidad at 10 am today.

Asked about the status of the Phoenix Park IPO, Howai said an audit on Phoenix Park Gas Processors should have been completed by now.

He explained that once this has been done, he is optimistic that the relevant documents would be sent to the SEC and this IPO could be launched next month.

Source:
By Clint Chan Tack
Newsday
Thursday March 5, 2015

http://www.newsday.co.tt/news/0,207846.html