Banks in the Caribbean continue to suffer the effects of de-risking. It is all due to the US Treasury Department and its anti money laundering measures. As a result corresponding banks in America have been pulling out of the Caribbean, making it difficult to impossible to process payments to foreign companies in US dollars. The Belize Bank was on of the first to be affected when the Bank of America - cut ties with them earlier this year. So how is the bank subsisting? We asked them the Chairman of Belize Bank today.
Lyndon Guiseppi- Chairman, Belize Bank Ltd.
"Belize has been impacted significantly, but I hastened to add, it's not a Belizean phenomenon. Most of the countries in the Caribbean, from Trinidad in the south to Jamaica in the north, have had the loss of corresponding banks in the last two years. Belize is peculiarly juxtaposed in Central America between Mexico and Guatemala, have found itself I guess at the tip of the spear. But what I would say is that we are finding solutions to work around that and that while the crisis hasn't come to an end, the banks in Belize, certainly Belize Banks - we are finding ways to provide the corresponding banking services to our clients for them to get their money out of the country and to allow money to come into the country. We are extremely optimistic that this matter is going to be resolve in the short term and we are already on the road to recovery."
Emanuel Pech
"Could you give us a timeline for when that recovery stage will be reached?"
Lyndon Guiseppi- Chairman, Belize Bank Ltd.
"Well as it is now, we continue to provide all the corresponding services we have provide in the past. The difference between now and a year ago is that it's taking a little bit longer to get the wires out, its taking a bit longer to get the wires in and it's become a little more expensive to get the wires out. But fundamentality we continue provide the same services. We just need to find a mechanism that will expedite that process."
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