The local banking sector is on firm footing with all the key indicators trending in
positive directions.
That’s one of the main assessments coming out of a meeting held on Monday with
the senior officers of the local banks and financial institutions and Prime Minister
and Finance Minister, Gaston Browne.
“We are committed to having quarterly meetings to review the performance of the
banks and our indigenous banks in particular, looking at their capital adequacy;
their level of delinquency, and I have to tell you that all our banks are sound as
they exceed the minimum capital requirement. Our banks are also among the
strongest in the entire sub-region,” he disclosed.
According to the prime minister the banks have also shown growth in the area of
credit. “We have seen credit growth within the banking sector which is a good
sign after years of stagnation or declining credit so the fact that we are seeing an
increase in credit means that the contributions by locals towards the growth and
development of our country is increasing and we have asked the bank to keep a
steady hand and to continue promoting policies that would lead to increased credit
growth,” he outlined.
The meeting also discussed Antigua and Barbuda’s economic performance over
the past four years where growth averaged in excess of 8 percent per annum which
means that the country is doing well economically.
“We also discussed savings at the banks which have growth by over $100 million
annually,” he revealed.
PM Browne used the opportunity to outline to the that bankers the government’s
priorities over the next year would be on the physical infrastructure of the country;
meaning the road networks.
“This year we will be placing increased emphasis on improving our roads. Over
the past years, we focused on infrastructural developments such as the cruise and
cargo port expansion, the water infrastructure and the major highways where we
have made significant improvements. However, its now time to focus on our
community or secondary roads,” he stated.
The emphasis on the secondary roads repairs and improvements will come into
focus in the coming months and years according to the prime minster.
