The establishment of a bank owned by the credit union movement could rest in the hands of former Central Bank of Barbados Governor Sir Courtney Blackman.
Sir Courtney has been commissioned by the credit unions to conduct a feasibility study on a bank that will fill the void caused by the absence of a home-grown money house and also provide services that are not currently available through the credit unions.
President of the Barbados Cooperative & Credit Union League Limited, Hally Haynes, told the DAILY NATION yesterday Sir Courtney was expected to hand over the report on the study on April 15.
He said the league’s executive would then discuss the study with the institution’s constituents and a decision would be made on the way forward on the proposed bank.
“We have considerable deposits across Barbados scattered across banks and since there is no locally owned and operated bank, it presents an opportunity for the credit union movement to seek to establish a cooperative bank for credit unions and Barbadians living in Barbados and abroad,” Haynes said.
He added that the new institution would allow the cooperative to offer chequing, foreign exchange and other services currently provided through the traditional banks.
