Jun 2016 Financial News

Bankers urge Government...Monitor post-Brexit international markets

Jun 28, 2016

As Government prepares to embark on road shows in the United States to sell US$1 billion in bonds to financial institutions there, local bankers are calling for continued monitoring of international markets. This follows Britain’s vote to leave the European Union which caused global stock markets to plummet and oil prices to slide downward.

President of the Bankers Association of T&T, (BATT) Darryl White said trends show that investors move to other markets when it’s not prosperous in a particular market.

Speaking at the launch of Banking Week at the banquet room of the Queens’ Park Cricket Club in Port-of-Spain, White said if Government goes ahead with the bond “we will see how that affects the international markets.”

He said: “If one looked at the US Treasury which is the benchmark for issuing US debt, US treasuries have dropped and stayed pretty low.

“I have not looked at treasuries over the last weekend since Brexit. Most of the times when you have those types of reactions, people tend to go toward stronger global currencies. The US is a stronger global currency.

White said it might “actually be more attractive to go into US treasuries” because benchmark treasuries have stayed “pretty decent.”

“I haven’t seen anything that suggests that it is a bad time, but we’ll see. Markets are always volatile, made worse by recent events.”

He said if asked local T&T’s bankers are willing to accompany the contingent going to the US for the road show.

On a related issue, White said: “I am not sure which bank is going to be arranging the financing just yet. Should it be one of our local banks its possible. I am sure he (Finance Minister Colm Imbert) would be ably assisted by the Central Bank and members of the Ginance Ministry.”

Source:
Nadaleen Singh
Trinidad Guardian
Tuesday June 28, 2016

http://www.guardian.co.tt/business/2016-06-28/monitor-post-brexit-international-markets