Barbados’ newly designed bank notes are not an attempt to flood the local market with more money.
Central Bank Governor Dr DeLisle Worrell stoutly denied rumours circulating about the motives behind the new colourful notes introduced last month.
Speaking yesterday during his quarterly Press conference at the Tom Adams Financial Centre, the governor said the Central Bank was doing what it had done for many years, which was to replace old notes with new ones – except that on this occasion the new notes had been redesigned.
“There is no [additional] currency in circulation,” Worrell told the media.
“There is no ground for any of that,” he said, stressing that there was no funny business attached to the new issue of currency.
 “The process continues as before with new notes issued as an equivalent note is retired. New notes are issued only as an equivalent note is retired.
“So if the banks send dirty notes to us and say these are no longer sufficiently presentable, we make adjustments as well because we want our currency to look clean and for people to have confidence in handling them.
“Notes which come in to us that are clean and good, we issue them back. Any that are not fit for circulation, we take them out and give the equivalent of the new notes so there is no additional currency into the market. The money supply remains exactly as it was before. The old notes and new notes continue to be in circulation,” he explained. (GE)
