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

121 THE CHANGING FACE OF BANKING In 1995, there were 34 international banks licensed to operate in Barbados. During the next six years, intensified promotion and strong economic growth in source countries (Canada, in particular) boosted the number by an average of nearly four per annum to reach 56 (the peak) in 2001. For most of the early years of the new decade there was very little change in the numbers. Thereafter the onset of the financial crisis in 2007 and regulatory changes abroad negatively impacted the sector. A steady decline in licensed entities was recorded, with six voluntarily winding up operations in 2010 (when the total fell to 45) and another three leaving in 2013, depressing the total to 40. During the next three years the number of international banks fell, on average, by five per annum to reach 25 at the end of 2016. Between 1998 and 2010, the number of domestic financial entities under the Bank’s supervision changed little. At the end of the 20th century, there were seven commercial banks and 14 non-banks. By 2007, as a result of consolidation and acquisitions, the number of commercial banks had fallen to six, but there were now 15 non-banks. Indeed, when the BNB was sold in 2003, for the first time in the history of banking in Barbados there were no indigenous banks. Between 2010 and 2016, the total number of licensed entities fell from 21 to 19, entirely reflective of a reduction in commercial banks. By 2016, there were five commercial banks, one bank holding company and 13 non-banks. THE SPECIAL SCHEMES For a while after their introduction in 1978, the Bank’s Special Schemes 73 to promote locally-produced goods were heavily utilised due to the favourable environment that resulted from the expansion in Caricom trade. Between 1977 and 1983, exports to Caricom grew on average by 15.7% per annum, moving from $46.6 million to $120.4 Chapter 4: Maturity, Modernisation and Issues of Governance: 1987 and Beyond