| …legislation expected before Parliamentary recess – Dr LuncheonA senior official within the Bank of Guyana has confirmed that the bank is waiting to assume regulatory responsibility of the New Building Society.Central Bank Governor, Lawrence Williams, ever since April, had announced that the bank has already taken steps to bring NBS under its direct supervision, even as some “management issues” had been uncoveredAccording to him, the action taken by the Bank of Guyana (BoG) has been endorsed by the authorities and the necessary legislative changes to give effect to a prudent regulatory regime are being drafted.This newspaper was informed that the requisite draft legislation is currently with the Attorney General’s Chambers awaiting final vetting.This was confirmed by head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr Roger Luncheon who at his Post Cabinet press briefing,Wholesale Authentic Jerseys, yesterday,Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale, said that the Bill has survived the Cabinet protocol where the intent of the introduction of the legislation has been endorsed,Wholesale NFL Jerseys China, “when the actual draft has been extended by the Cabinet and the MPs forum,” to be Parliament ready.He noted that the Minister of Finance will be laying the Bill but the BoG which is an independent body that will be tasked with regulation of NBS,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, has requested the Bill for scrutiny.Dr Luncheon said that he did not see it as a huge obstacle and there can be expected the imminent tabling of the Bill.When asked for a time frame Dr Luncheon said that he hoped it would be before the August 8 recess but cautioned that given the amount of worked currently before the House the second and third readings may not be able to conclude before the recess is effected.Meanwhile, Williams, when he made the disclosure, was at the time responding to queries by Cyril Walker, Chairman of the Concerned Members of the NBS, in response to concerns raised recently by that group.The group through its chairman, raised concerns about the NBS not being licensed under Section 3 (2) of the Financial Institutions Act, which would have placed the Society under the supervision of the BoG and suggested that the NBS had taken advantage of this.The group said: “Taking advantage of this failure to register, the society has been conducting its affairs in a manner that we consider dangerous to the members and the financial sector generally.”The group cited the example of the society’s $1.5 billion purchase of bonds in the Berbice Bridge Company from the financially troubled CLICO Company.It said that such a purchase is “inconsistent with the Single Borrower Limit of the FIA but pointed out that “it may have been done in a manner that could be deemed inconsistent with the NBS Act and Rules.”Williams responded in a letter dated April 17 by stating that, “until such time as the legislative changes are enacted, the bank will continue to engage the NBS on general issues of safety and soundness through authorized inspections and offsite surveillance.”The official with whom this newspapers spoke yesterday did point out that the bank has conducted several inspections of NBS upon the authorization of the Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh in keeping with the NBS Act.At the company’s Annual General Meeting it was pointed out that the last such inspection was May 31, 2007 and following every inspection, the findings have been communicated to Dr Singh and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the NBS.The findings at that time of the inspections, point to a healthy mortgage portfolio and general compliance with the NBS Act notwithstanding some management issues.Walker in his correspondence had also raised the issue about the absence of an accountant on the NBS Board and pointed out the absence of a governance committee in the society.Concerns were raised about the resignation of Clement De Nobrega,mlb jerseys china, a professionally qualified accountant,Cheap China Jerseys, who was elected as a director in April 2008.According to the group he resigned some five months later, apparently dissatisfied with the way the board conducted the business of the society.Another member of the group and Former Director at NBS, Christopher Ram, when contacted said that for a financial institution of such a magnitude to operate unregulated was dangerous pointing the CLICO Meltdown.At this point it is unclear when the legislation will reach parliament given that there are currently several pieces of legislation before the house that the MPs are gearing to complete before the house goes into recess on August 8. |
