Turnaround year for CDB in 2013 – measures put in place for 2014 to keep that momentum

Dr. William Warren Smith, President of the
Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).

2013 has been categorised as a turnaround year for the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) operationally.

This was the word from Dr. William Warren Smith, President of the CDB, on Tuesday at the annual press conference to highlight CDB’s activities in 2013 and economic development and prospects. He told journalists from the region he was pleased with the turnaround and the efforts from the staff in this achievement.

In the news release of CDB’s performance in 2013, it indicated, “The Caribbean Development Bank recorded a strong recovery in loan approvals and disbursements in 2013. Sustained improvements in global growth and the strengthening of regional economic performance as well as improved efficiencies and strengthening of internal controls provided the backdrop for the turnaround in the Bank’s operations during the year.

“Loan approvals totalled United States dollars (USD) 139 million up 34 per cent from US$104 million in 2012. Similarly, total disbursement amounted to US$186 million in 2013, some 60 per cent above disbursements of US$116 million in 2012.”

Dr. Smith pointed out, “Twenty-eight per cent of our loans went to Barbados, 25 per cent went to Antigua and Barbuda and 18 per cent went to Guyana; those three countries were the primary beneficiaries of CDB’s approvals in 2013. You would recognise there is no consistent pattern in this regard, but what is perhaps consistent is that we put primary emphasis on the OECS countries because that is our mandate to give special and urgent regard to the needs of the smaller countries in our membership.”

In the CDB report, it outlined Guyana will benefit from loans totalling almost US$28 million to strengthen sea and river defence systems.

An amount of US$24.5 million was approved for both Antigua and Barbuda and the Republic of Haiti to enhance institutional effectiveness and expand opportunities for children to complete primary and secondary education. With an emphasis on building resilience, a US$4.6 million loan to the Government of Barbados will improve drainage infrastructure in order to reduce flood hazard in the Speightstown area.

CDB approved loans totalling US$65 million to four shareholder governments (Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Dominica) for on-lending to LIAT (1974) Ltd. These loans will be used to finance LIAT’s Fleet Modernisation Project. LIAT serves as an important vehicle for intra-regional trade in goods and services, and provides vital airlift for tourists visiting the Eastern Caribbean.

The President also highlighted other notable developments in 2013 for CDB, “which include Suriname becoming 27th member and the 19th BMC on September 17th. This marks an important milestone in Suriname’s integration into the CARICOM Region and open access to CDB’s financial and technical resources to support social and economic development”.

“We have had the removal of the negative outlook on CDB’s credit rating by Moody’s Investors Service and they gave us a stable outlook. This is significant as this is happening at a time when a number of our borrowing member countries were moving in the opposite direction. The fact we were able to move against the tide is a credit to the hard work of the staff.”

He also identified other accomplishments made by the bank in 2013, however he stated, “In 2014 we are putting things in place this year to dramatically transform our ability to carry out our responsibilities. We recognise we have to communicate better both with internal and external clients. We have to continuously focus on developing strategies that do not put us in a position to undermine the viability of the bank. The elements of that strategy we shared with our shareholders are diversification of the portfolio and focusing on those countries that are relatively underserved. We recognise one way we
can do this is by placing greater emphasis on the private sector.” (NB)