By Nelson A. King
The Antigua and Barbuda government
has described as “successful”
a fully-attended roundtable
meeting in Washington,
D.C. on Tuesday between representatives
of the the 15-nation
Caribbean Community (CARICOM),
members of the United
States Congress and senior representatives
of major US banks
on the effects of de-risking and
the withdrawal of correspondent
banking relations (CBRs).
An Antigua and Barbuda
government statement said on
Wednesday that the roundtable
was first proposed by Antigua
and Barbuda’s Prime Minister,
Gaston Browne at last July’s
meeting of CARICOM Heads of
Government.
Since then, Antigua and
Barbuda’s Ambassador to the
US Sir Ronald Sanders worked
with Congresswoman Maxine
Waters, as chair of the Committee
on Financial Services of the
US House of Representatives,
“to make it a reality,” the statement
said.
It said senior bankers from
six major US banks and US
Congressional representatives
gathered with a delegation representing
CARICOM at Capitol
Hill in Washington under the
chairmanship of Congresswoman
Waters.
The CARICOM delegation was
led by Browne, who is the CARICOM
lead on financial matters.
According to the statement,
Browne told the meeting that
the Caribbean and the US have
“a mutuality of interests, which
necessitated each side displaying
active concern about the wellbeing
of the other, including
security.”
In this regard, Browne said
that the process of de-risking,
which has led to a withdrawal
of relations by some US banks
from Caribbean banks, “poses
a serious threat to the region’s
welfare, including its capacity
to import goods from the US,
which totaled over US$13 billion
last year, and is set to exceed this
figure this year,” according to
the statement.
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It said that representatives of
the US banks indicated that they
recognize that value of CBRs,
“not only in financial terms but
in the critical role it plays in global
trade, investment and other
financial services.”
“They expressed a keen interest
in overcoming the challenges
posed by a regulatory environment
in which banks are conscious,
in their decision-making,
of the severe penalties for
incidents of money laundering
and terrorism financing,” the
statement said.
“The banks made a number
of helpful proposals for how
this issue could be addressed,”
it added.
In response, Brown pointed
out that, over the last 10 years,
US$26 billion has been imposed
worldwide as fines for non-compliance
with money laundering,
“but not one bank was located in
the Caribbean.”
“US legislators expressed
alarm at the effect on the Caribbean
of de-risking and the loss
of CBRs from US banks, as well
US Congresswoman, Maxine Walters with Antigua and Barbuda
Prime Minister, Gaston Browne.
Gov’t of Antigua and Barbuda
as the effect on US national
security, if the situation worsens,”
the statement said.
“The Roundtable reached
joint conclusions that the problem
has to be tackled urgently
and at several levels,” it added.
“All participating groups at the
meeting resolved to work on
solutions that arose from the
discussion.”
Prime Minister Browne
expressed “great satisfaction”
with the outcome of the meeting
and the obvious commitment
of US legislators and the
US banks to work with the Caribbean
on solutions, according
to the statement.
Browne told the meeting that
what is required is “to build
trust and confidence between
correspondent banks in the US
and respondent banks in the
Caribbean in a transparent relationship.”
Congressional roundtable on
de-risking in the Caribbean
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