The Government is seeking an extension of the moratorium on commercial loans, according to Finance Minister Gaston Browne, who says he plans to meet with local banks this week.
Browne says he will seek an audience with the financial institutions either today, September 7, or on Tuesday, September 8, after holding discussions with Governor Timothy Antoine of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB).
He is hoping to have the banks agree to extend the moratorium for another six months since many persons are still unemployed.
According to Browne, the ECCB agrees with his position, “and I believe that they will be arranging a meeting of the Monetary Council for us to get consensus of the members,” he says.
At the height of the pandemic, the financial institutions effected a moratorium on loan payments for at least three months. While they were grateful for the gesture, many customers expressed concerns about the accrual of interest, which the banks said they were not willing to waive.
By now, however, customers have resumed payments; so they say Browne will be seeking a new moratorium and not an extension.
But pundits and small business people still believe that a stimulus – and not simply a deferral of loan payments – is what the Finance Minister ought to be negotiating at this time.
They point to neighbouring St. Kitts – where the government is instituting a second injection of financial assistance – as an example of a proactive government helping its people out of the economic crisis.
