The Central Bank of The Bahamas is conducting its most extensive review of the lending cap it imposed on the commercial banking sector following the September 11 terrorist attacks, the Clearing Banks Association chairman told The Tribune yesterday, with the banks asked to provide input on whether the restrictions should be partially lifted or entirely eliminated.
Terry Hilts, who is also Firstcaribbean (Bahamas) vice-president for retail and branch banking , said the Central Bank representatives had asked the association members for their views following concerns expressed by banks about the impact the lending restrictions were having on their business and then wider economy. The Central Bank will assess the association’s presentation before it makes a final decision about any changes in respect to the lending cap.
“At FirstCaribbean, we recognise today’s economic environment is very challenging, and with some of the global threats we’refaced with it calls for banks to be prudent in their lending in any event,” Mr. Hilts said.
“While we would welcome nevre having to operate under the forced ceiling of a lending cap, we can understand why regulators would want to keep a cap on credit. We don’t want the industry to experience any problems.”
By Yoland Deleveaux, The Tribune
