delisle worrell : barbados – principles underlying its economic strategy and aims remarks by dr delisle worrell, governor of the central bank of barbados, at the xxxix meeting of network of central banks and finance ministries of latin america and the caribbean, sponsored by the inter - american development bank, washington dc, 9 april 2014. * * * the key to successful economic policy in small very open economies ( svoes ) like barbados is to secure the exchange rate anchor by ensuring the country ’ s reserves of foreign exchange remain at an adequate level. a second reality for svoes is that they do not produce the consumption or intermediate goods they use ; these are all imported, as are most items of machinery. the reason is that svoes have limited human and physical resources, and they can achieve internationally competitive scale in only a handful of activities. a depreciation of the exchange rate therefore serves no good purpose, and it has the adverse consequences of high inflation and undermining investor confidence. fear of devaluation therefore provokes capital flight, because no - one wants to be caught out by the devaluation. how should the svoe stabilise the external accounts to sustain adequate foreign reserves and to restore adequacy when reserves have been depleted? the answer : by containing aggregate demand, and thereby limiting the demand for imports, to fall within the supply of foreign exchange. the tools for aggregate demand management are government revenue, expenditure and the strategy for financing government ’ s deficit. these are the principles underlying the barbados economic strategy. the global recession has been a challenge for barbados. both our principal foreign exchange sectors ( tourism and international business ) were hit. and growth stalled in all three of our main markets : the uk, the us and canada. what has been our response? to persist with a strategy for adjustment and growth that has served us very well in the past. in the short run aggregate demand has to be cut, in line with the reduced availability of foreign exchange to buy imports. however, our economy has become more resilient in the face of shocks than we used to be. the cumulative real income contraction since 2008 is no more than 3 percent, compared to a 14 percent drop in the early 1990s. economic growth will not resume until the foreign exchange sectors get moving again. barbados remains very competitive in tourism, international business and alcoholic beverages. in the 2013 – 14 global competitiveness report barbados outranks its caribbean and central american neighbours in 10 of

central bank of barbados tom adams financial centre, spry street, bridgetown p. o. box 1016 telephone : ( 246 ) 436 - 6870 : fax. ( 246 ) 436 - 7836 e - mail address : info @ centralbank. org. bb website : www. centralbank. org. bb remarks by cleviston haynes, governor, central bank of barbados at the opening of the new branch of consolidated finance one welches, st. thomas thursday, january 31, 2019 i am delighted to celebrate with you, the launch of this new corporate branch in the growing welches business district. firstly, i would like to extend congratulations to the head of the branch, mr. darrell wilson, an experienced financial services professional, and his staff, as they set out on this exciting journey, anxiously looking forward to seizing the available opportunities and overcoming the inevitable challenges that lie ahead. i have no doubt that the depth of experience and understanding of the barbadian financial landscape that you bring will augur well for the success of this new branch, as you seek to expand consolidated finance ’ s foothold in the corporate and commercial lending market. consolidated finance is now a household name with a long history in barbados, having been established as a wholly - owned subsidiary of the mcenearney alston ( barbados ) group. the company has built an excellent reputation, expanding its range of financial products and services ranging from vehicle leasing arrangements to offering fixed deposits, real estate financing, merchant banking and foreign exchange trading. as regulator, the bank has been able to monitor your growth and we are satisfied with your commitment to enhance your systems for risk management to ensure compliance with regulatory standards. we welcome your decision to expand your footprint in the domestic financial market at this time. it demonstrates confidence in your ability to manage an expanded portfolio. equally important, it shows confidence in the future prospects for the barbados economy and embodies your commitment to helping the barbados economy to recover and strengthen over the medium term. 1 | page as i reported only yesterday, the economic indicators for the barbadian economy are displaying encouraging signs. but the prospects for durable growth over the medium term require a strong recovery in investment, both foreign and domestic. i believe that the domestic financial sector has an important role to play in this area, as it seeks to allocate over time, the substantial resources it has mobilized from our citizens. in recent years, credit demand has been weak and the banking sector has been marked