Central Bank of Barbados

Central Bank of Barbados

CBB headquarters in Bridgetown

CBB headquarters in Bridgetown
Headquarters Tom Adams Financial Centre, Spry Street, Bridgetown, Saint Michael
Coordinates 13°05′56″N 59°36′47″W / 13.098828°N 59.613030°WCoordinates: 13°05′56″N 59°36′47″W / 13.098828°N 59.613030°W
Established 1972
Governor Dr. Delisle Worrell
Central bank of Barbados
Currency Barbados dollar
BBD (ISO 4217)
Interest on reserves 4.5%
Website www.centralbank.org.bb

The Central Bank of Barbados (C.B.B.) is the national monetary authority responsible for providing advice to government of Barbados on banking and other financial and monetary matters. The Central Bank of Barbados, was established by Act of parliament on 2 May 1972.[1] Prior to the establishment of C.B.B., Barbados' monetary policies were governed through its membership in the Eastern Caribbean Currency Authority (ECCA). The Central Bank operates as the banknote issuing authority for Barbadian currency.

The name of the Central Bank's building is the Tom Adams Financial Centre, which is an eight-storey building located on Spry Street in Bridgetown. As part of the complex, the ground floor holds the 491-seat theatre/auditorium known as the Frank Collymore Hall. The building was constructed between 1982-83[2]

The Global Competitiveness Report for 2008-2009 ranked the soundness of Barbados's commercial banks as 21st out of 134 global jurisdictions assessed.[3][4]

Role

At its inception the Central Bank of Barbados had certain objectives.

These were:

Today the regulatory capacity of the central bank handles the issuance of Barbadian banknotes and coins, and licensing of agencies such as: banks, investment businesses, depository trust and finance companies. It also undertakes supervision of Barbadian financial institutions, credit worthiness of the financial system, administering of the international reserves, and reporting regularly to the country on the national finances.

The Barbadian economy is reviewed regularly by several notable Wall Street investment firms including: PricewaterhouseCoopers, Standard & Poor's,[5][6] and Moody's.[7]

Organisation

The Tom Adams Financial Centre building.

The head of the Central Bank is the Governor, who is appointed by the Bank's Board of Directors. The current Governor of the Central Bank of Barbados is Dr. Delisle Worrell as of November 2009.[8]

Past Central Bank Governors

Awards of the CBB

See also

References

  1. ↑ "CHAPTER 323C - Central Bank of Barbados". Parliament of Barbados. Barbados Deposit Insurance Corporation, BDIC. 2 May 1978. Retrieved 19 January 2010.
  2. ↑ Barrack Construction Company to get $50M
  3. ↑ "8th pillar: Financial market sophistication". The Global Competitiveness Report 2008-2009. 2008–2009. p. Pg. 2,. Retrieved 11 January 2010. Section 8.07: Soundness of banks 21 (out of 134)
  4. ↑ Taylor, Rob (10 September 2008). "Canada rated world's soundest bank system: survey". CIBC.com. Retrieved 11 January 2010. CANBERRA (Reuters) - Canada has the world's soundest banking system, closely followed by Sweden, Luxembourg and Australia, a survey by the World Economic Forum has found as financial crisis and bank failures shake world markets. [ . . . ] The United States, where some of Wall Street's biggest financial names have collapsed in recent weeks, rated only 40, just behind Germany at 39, and smaller states such as Barbados, Estonia and even Namibia, in southern Africa.
  5. ↑ H., R. (14 November 2009). "Standard & Poor’s downgrades outlook". Barbados Advocate. Retrieved 14 November 2009.
  6. ↑ Russell, Stacey (14 November 2009). "NOT GOOD!". Nation Newspaper. Retrieved 14 November 2009.
  7. ↑ Staff writer (13 October 2009). "Barbados rating downgraded". CBC. Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation. 5059834. Retrieved 15 October 2009.
  8. ↑ Brathwaite, Jewel (24 November 2009). "New Central Bank Governor to address public on countercyclical measures". Nation Newspaper. Retrieved 2 December 2009. TOMORROW the new Governor of the Central Bank of Barbados, Dr Delisle Worrell will be giving his first public address since taking his appointment at the beginning of this month. And there could be no better topic than that of countercyclical measures, which will be the focus of his presentation to the November luncheon of the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) at the Hilton.

External links