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

33 of the Treasury Building. By December 1973, the Banking and Currency Department was occupying part of the ground floor of the same building and the Research and Foreign Exchange Departments had offices in the north-eastern section of the Public Buildings. This latter area, which had been previously occupied by the Government Savings Bank, was renovated by the Barbados Industrial Development Corporation. During 1974, the Exchange Control (formerly Foreign Exchange) and Bank Supervision Departments were housed on the third floor of A. Barnes and Co. Ltd on Bridge Street, which had been acquired for that purpose. In 1975, when the Caribbean Development Bank vacated their offices in the Treasury Building, the Bank's administrative offices were moved to the sixth floor and the Research Department (including the fledgling library) relocated to the fifth. Staffing Courtney Blackman and subsequent governors of the Bank have made no secret of the fact that one of the institution’s greatest assets has been the high quality of its staff. During its early years, the Bank was able to hire staff with a variety of assets; some were highly-trained, others had extensive job experience, while several were fresh out of school but brimming with enthusiasm. By December 1972, the Bank had nine employees. Apart from the persons mentioned already the establishment now included the governor’s secretary and chauffeur, who had been hired in June and August, respectively. The staff increased by 37 during 1973, in line with the rapid expansion in the Bank’s functions. Many of its long-serving support staff (stenographers, for example) were recruited between January and March but as the year progressed the hirings were mainly of a technical nature (statistical and research assistants and economists). As the Bank strove to issue the new Barbadian currency and attend to the needs of the commercial banks it was fortunate to have recourse to the services of several Chapter 2: The Early Years: 1972 - 1975