It is quite heartening to see the new head of the Barbados National Bank (soon to be Republic Bank) hit the ground running on his arrival at the top spot in Barbados. That he has been able to assess the ills of Barbados so quickly is a signal achievement for which he should be congratulated.
The bank, like other banks in the world, and in particular Barbados, is experiencing a downturn as Barbadians stagger under the shocks that other countries are experiencing.
The disclosure that the BNB recorded a 58 per cent drop in profits, however, should be seen as a wake-up call for conservative decisions.
Is going ahead and paying a final dividend (18 cents total) considered wise? Can it be when the new head tells us that, with the likelihood of staff costs rising over 48 per cent of expenses, something will have to be done?
If this something means sending home some of the 520 staff, mostly Barbadian employees, this does not look good when juxtaposed against the decision to pay dividends to shareholders. Can it be that we are seeing the way smoothed for an impending cut in staff? More added to the breadline but holders of dividends not required to hold strain.
Perhaps it is time that Barbadians wake up and retrieve the commanding heights of the economy. Perhaps it is time we ask ourselves the question: what are we getting for being milked? I contend that there are institutions that are only here for what they can get, but contribute nothing of substance to the economy.
But even where some commanding heights are in the hands of Barbadians, they are too few and far between.
The capitalist system is being challenged throughout the world and no less so in Barbados. Not so much the system but the disparity in wealth and social entitlements. We have watched the Middle East, where rulers and ministers with vast wealth have been toppled because of poverty neglect.
In America, where joblessness and foreclosures have wrecked thousands of people, we witness the frustration. Why not in Barbados? Is BNB justifying foreclosures?
Can the Government step in before the fashion spreads?
In fact, foreclosures are happening here in Barbados and it has taken a newly-arrived to show us that Government cannot do everything, even for the poor and needy!
Yes, Barbados is a beautiful place and, unlike many other places, most systems work. There is freedom of speech as seen by the new arrival. Crime is relatively low. There are few pockets of poverty. There is a vibrant middle class. There is excellent education at all levels and ongoing efforts to improve.
Our Minister of Health is in the thick of things. Our elections are fair and square without the need for foreign inspectors. You can fly from Barbados to any part of the world; make a telephone call to wherever. You can marry anyone, so long as they are of the legal age and sex.
It is almost a paradise. But there is an apple tree and we are picking some of the forbidden fruit.
The breadfruit leaves with which we seek to gird our loins are showing holes.
Mr Ian Carrington, a respected banker, had his doubts about serving on the board of BNB and taking up his post as head of the Financial Services Commission. Perhaps, the new assignment is virgin territory for him but he may have suspected that he might at some time experience conflict; therefore he sought advice.
I have been interacting with financial services commissions for many years and advise that there is much interplay between banking services and non-banking services in the detection of illegal activities and cross-border transactions. They operate on a common platform.
Therefore I am in perfect agreement with the editorial carried in the Saturday SUN of September 18 that Mr Ian Carrington has no option but to resign from one of the two posts.