BARBADIANS CAN TAKE some comfort in the fact that the island’s financial system remains strong despite worsening credit quality last year due to the weak global and domestic macro-economic environment.
This reassurance came yesterday in the form of the second Financial Stability Report produced by the Central Bank of Barbados and the Financial Services Commission and released at the bank during a media event.
The 46-page report noted that the slowdown in economic growth contributed to weak loan demand and a further deterioration in credit quality among all commercial banks, credit unions and non-bank financial institutions.
However, deputy director of the bank’s research and economic analysis department, Anton Belgrave, said the system remained liquid and profitable as entities continued to hold more capital than required by local regulatory or international guidelines. (NB)
