By Youri Kemp
Caribbean News Now associate editor
[email protected]
WASHINGTON, USA — In a post published last week by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on its website, the IMF’s general counsel, Rhoda Weeks-Brown, claimed that a global bank that had left the Caribbean due to correspondent banking concerns had recently decided to come back and re-engage the Caribbean but gave no details of the name of the bank, which Caribbean country it left, or any other particulars of the nature of business or anything that would substantiate the claims in the statement.
The published piece, titled: “Cleaning Up: Countries are advancing efforts to stop criminals from laundering their trillions”, Weeks-Brown wrote: “And in the Caribbean, where the withdrawal of correspondent banking relationships is a critical concern, we convened international banks and their local counterparts to foster bilateral cooperation in addressing information gaps and meeting regulatory expectations. One global bank that had left the region has now decided to re-establish ties with some local banks.”
When asked for clarification of the content and background of the claims made Weeks-Brown, particularly which bank, which Caribbean country/ies it left and which Caribbean country/ies it is re-engaging, the IMF’s Media Relations Team responded on Tuesday saying: “Thank you for your email and interest. Due to confidentiality considerations, we will not be able to share the name of the global bank. Appreciate your understanding.”
