Both Sides of The Coin: The Story of The Central Bank of Barbados 1972-2017

116 The onset of the 2007-08 financial crisis, adjustments to Basel II by the global regulators and the emergence of Basel III forced the Bank to revisit its Basel II Implementation Roadmap in 2010. Given the new focus on the adequacy of risk management in the banking sector, it was decided that priority should now be given to implementing that part of the Accord that dealt with the regulatory framework, industry risk management practices and supervisory transparency. As a result, during the next few years the Bank supplied the banking sector with guidelines on a variety of related issues. The Basel II framework was finally implemented in 2015. The Bank provided technical advice that facilitated the signing of the agreement relating to the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) in 2014. FATCA dealt with the exchange of financial information between Barbados and the U.S. and Barbadian-licensed banks that did not comply faced a 30% withholding penalty on all yields from their U.S. transactions. Another indication of the move towards international best practice in banking was the formation, in 2007, of the Barbados Deposit Insurance Corporation (BDIC). 70 The BDIC is administered by a board, independent of the Bank, which is represented on the board by the governor and the director of bank supervision. The BDIC guarantees insurance coverage of up to $25,000 for deposits in commercial banks and other deposit taking financial institutions licensed under the FIA. The Corporation manages the Deposit Insurance Fund, which was designed to extend the financial sector safety net and maintain public Cover of the 2009 Annual Report of the Barbados Deposit Insurance Corporation.