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

69 promotional programme, on November 23 the Bank launched the first series of Government of Barbados Savings Bonds in denominations of $50, $100, $1,000 and $5,000. The bonds, which would be issued and redeemed by the Bank, and yield 12 per cent if held for five years, were fully subscribed within the first week. These instruments, originally intended to be issued in November 1980, were delayed because the Bank did not want to compromise the issue of National Housing Bonds by the BDB which came out at the same time. During 1984, the Bank issued a “Manual of Procedure” for the bonds that included the Savings Bond Act, application procedures and an amendment to regulations that raised the maximum holdings per person from $25,000 to $50,000. Regional cooperation The Bank collaborated with Caricom central banks and financial institutions through a variety of avenues. The most significant of these was the establishment of the Caricom Multilateral Clearing Facility (CMCF) on June 16, 1977 that replaced the existing bilateral payments arrangements in respect of merchandise trade. It was intended to facilitate payments on a multilateral basis, promote the use of regional currencies in settlements, economise on the use of foreign exchange and improve monetary co- operation among the countries, thereby expanding Caricom trade. Another regional initiative supported by the Bank was the Caricom Travellers’ Cheque, which was introduced on August 1, 1980, to reduce the use of US dollar-denominated travellers’ cheques. The cheques were issued in Trinidad and Tobago dollars in denominations of $10, $20, $50 and $100 and redeemed solely by the National Commercial Bank of Trinidad and Tobago. 41 During 1984, under a technical assistance arrangement, the Bank Prime Minister Tom Adams purchasing the first issue of Savings Bonds. Chapter 3: Consolidation: 1976 to 1986