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Banks are only serving the rich in pandemic

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By Makeda Mikael

When monetary stress enters the economy through any kind of upheaval, be it hurricane, pandemic or otherwise indigenous banks go very silent, lending all their money to the government and the reliable rich, and even though bursting at the seams, their penny customers starve.

There are no stimulus packages built for the entrepreneurs and the local people who have been paying interest all their lives, and even locals with worth in land or property are being forced out of business by the failure of the banks to observe empathy for their small local clients.

COVID protocols have now given the bank operatives shelter from the people in need so they don’t even have to see their customers, and bankers are now further hidden and the money protected for their expatriate business customers.

The hardest part is the failure to respond to requests, thereby leaving customers hanging in limbo for weeks while the business falls deeper into failure and the morale of the owners and their staff become too low to function, and the business goes under.

Initially the banks had to be nudged into granting a six month moratorium on loans during a pandemic which was expected to last one year and maybe more.

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The second six month did little to ease the squeeze as the tourist based economy was still flat, but after that next six month ended, the apparent swim or sink attitude of the rapacious bankers has become the order of the day.

As the government continues to dip their hands heavily into the indigenous bank’s reserves, small business and individual loans are being pushed aside and ignored while their businesses sink into the mire.

In times like these entrepreneurs need a saviour, but the Government institutions are not built for the country’s internal usage in saving the local economy from crashing, but instead, all of their energies are spent in attracting Foreign Direct Investment, expanding the CIP and coddling the investment already in the country.

Where is the Small Business Investment Incentives program which is expected to bail out the local businesses, which together as a body, help government with a large part of the country’s economic development.

Today, as the country’s poor increase and the unemployed seek to find ways of eating, people are returning to the tray outside their homes and the roughly made side-of-the- road stalls at busy junctions all over the island, and not just in the town.

The Third World look has returned to Antigua, but the banks are reported to be bursting at the seams with money which the local population will never find access.

Normally the banks would be pressured by the Government to free up the local lending with assurances from our Treasury but Government has borrowed all of the money available leaving only that which the bank keeps for their expatriate business expansion schemes.

In circumstances like this where the population is left broke and constantly abused by all and sundry, hostilities build up and the suffering of the people spills out in ways which can damage lives and property and ultimately create dangerous spillovers into the business community.

Ultimately large losses will have to be written off to fires and other willful destruction of businesses and property as hunger unleashes passion.

Someone always pays the cost, either in measures to maintain economic stability with cooperation from the banks backed by government security, or in repairs, rehabilitation and rebuilding after hunger and passion unleashes rage!

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REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

(CONSULTING SERVICES – INDIVIDUAL SELECTION)

 

OECS MSME Guarantee Facility Project

Loan No.: IDA-62670, IDA-62660, IDA-62640, IBRD-88830, IDA-62650

Assignment Title: Senior Operating Officer (SOO)

Reference No. KN-ECPCGC-207852-CS-INDV

 

The Governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines have received financing in the amount of US$10 million equivalent from the World Bank towards the cost of establishing a partial credit guarantee scheme, and they intend to apply part of the proceeds to payments for goods, and consulting services to be procured under this project. 

The consultant will serve as the “Senior Operating Officer (SOO)” for the ECPCGC and should possess extensive knowledge of MSME lending with some direct experience lending to Micro, small and medium-sized businesses, knowledge of the internal control processes necessary for a lending operation and the ability to design and implement risk mitigation procedures. The ideal candidate should possess an Undergraduate Degree from a reputable college or university, preferably in Business, Accounting, Banking or related field, with a minimum of 5 years’ experience in lending, inclusive of MSME lending. The initial employment period will be for two years on a contractual basis. Renewal of the contract will be subject to a performance evaluation at the end of the contractual period. The assignment is expected to begin on September 30th, 2021.  The consultant will report directly to the Chief Executive Officer of the ECPCGC.

The detailed Terms of Reference (TOR) for the assignment can be viewed by following the attached link below. 

 

https://bit.ly/3iVannm

 

The Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECPCGC) now invites eligible “Consultants” to indicate their interest in providing the Services. Interested Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have:

  • An Undergraduate Degree from a reputable college or university, preferably in Business, Finance, Banking or related field; and
  • Minimum of 5 years’ experience in MSME lending. Applicants should also have:
  • The ability to design and implement risk management procedures 
  • Extensive knowledge of MSME lending with some direct experience lending to small and medium-sized businesses
  • Extensive knowledge of MSME banking operations
  • Knowledge of the internal controls necessary for a lending operation and the ability to design and implement risk management procedures
  • Experience developing and presenting information in public, including responding to questions in real-time
  • Experience lending to MSMEs located in the ECCU
  • Knowledge of marketing and communicating with the MSME sector
  • Ability to draft procedures to be used in a lending operation
  • Familiarity with the mechanics of a loan guarantee program
  • Exceptional written, oral, interpersonal, and presentation skills, and
  • Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office suite.

The attention of interested Individual Consultants is drawn to Section III, Paragraphs 3.14, 3.16, and 3.17 of the World Bank’s Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers July 2016, [revised November 2017] (“Procurement Regulations”), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest. A Consultant will be selected in accordance with the Approved Selection Method for Individual Consultants set out in the clause 7.34 of the World Bank Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers. 

 

Further information can be obtained at the address below during office hours 0800 to 1700 hours:

Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation

Brid Rock, Basseterre,

St. Kitts.

Expressions of interest must be delivered in a written form by e-mail by August 11th, 2021, to [email protected]

 

For further information, please contact:

Carmen Gomez-Trigg                                                            Bernard Thomas

Chief Executive Officer                                                          Chief Financial Officer

Tel: 868-620-8144                                                                  Tel: 869-765-2385

Email: [email protected]                                          [email protected]