May 2009 Financial News

Caribbean banks strong, liquid

May 20, 2009

Despite the global financial crisis and the deepening recession affecting economies everywhere, Caribbean banks remain strong and are well-equipped to weather the adverse economic conditions, stated Catherine Kumar, president of the Bankers Association of T&T (BATT).

Kumar, whose comments appeared in the April 2009 issue of CMMB Investment Quarterly, said that the March report of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on T&T stated that the domestic banking sector is well positioned to withstand the knock-on effects of the global financial storm. “The IMF report noted that the domestic financial sector is well-capitalised, profitable and liquid,” read a statement from CMMB.

In the article, Kumar analysed the commercial banking sector using what she termed, “guages of resilience”—capital adequacy, asset quality and robustness of risk management and governance structures—on which the sector registered creditable performances. Kumar said that the Governor of the T&T Central Bank has signalled the bank’s intention to conceptualise and implement an early warning system of indicators and that BATT was willing to commit resources to assist in this process.

CMMB said that Robert Le Hunte, chief executive officer of Barbados National Bank, cited data by the World Economic Forum that ranked the Barbados banking sector as 21st in the world and third in the Western Hemisphere after Canada and Chile. “All the banks operating in this market are part of well-recognised international and regional groups,” Hunte stated.

Source: Trinidad Guardian-http://guardian.co.tt/business/business/2009/05/20/caribbean-banks-strong-liquid
Date:20-05-09