A delegation from the Central Bank of Barbados (CBB) visited Canada earlier this week to discuss the prospects for Canadian banks and insurers operating in Barbados.

A statement from the CBB delegation, headed by Governor Dr. Delisle Worrell, said that they “expressed confidence in the future of [Barbados’] international business and financial sector, which attracts most of its investment from Canada.”

The statement added that Canada’s banks, insurers, and businesses “are able to improve their international competitiveness through their subsidiaries in Barbados, and in the process they employ Barbadian skills and professional services.”

“There are benefits for Canada, in the expansion of global companies headquartered in Canada; for Barbados, in the value added and jobs created here; and for the global consumers of the products and services of our international companies, because they get better value for money,” the statement elaborated.

Worrell was at Carleton University to give a presentation entitled De-risking in Barbados: the unintended consequences of international financial reforms. He concluded that international banks in Barbados have been divesting themselves of business and severing customer accounts as a result of a complex web of pressures, including measures they took to counter money laundering and terrorist financing.

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