Nandlall raps Govt over Bank of America withdrawal from local banks

Former Attorney General Anil Nandlall on Friday lambasted Government for one of America’s largest banks

severing ties with local banks and stated that if they do not rectify the deficiencies swiftly, the situation will worsen.
With foreign banks, particularly those in the United States cutting relationship with financial institutions in the Caribbean over money laundering concerns, the Bank of America has penned its notice to sever ties with “indigenous banks” in Guyana.
On Friday, Nandlall said that when a bank of such magnitude pulls out of a country it will have an impact on that nation, noting that the future between international banks and Guyana does not bode well.
“Unless we rectify our deficiencies quickly, the situation will become worse. The government seems incapable of extricating Guyana from the problem they put Guyana in,” he said.
Guyana Times was told that the Bank of America sent a notice indicating that it was severing its corresponding relationship with “indigenous banks” in Guyana. The notice was sent about a month ago.
This matter was on the agenda for discussion at the 37th Caricom Heads of Government Meeting held in Guyana July 4 to 6, as Caribbean leaders try to tackle the cut-off of regional indigenous banks, referred to as de-risking – a situation that poses ominous costs for the Region, including crushing the wider economy.
De-risking is when international banks withdraw from their relationships with indigenous banks because of fears of money laundering and questionable sources of funds which would cause the international banks to receive heavy fines from their regulators.
Caribbean banking institutions rely on such relationships in order to allow residents to conduct international financial transactions. However, since last year, the Region has been facing the impact of de-risking and the issue has been occupying the attention of Regional policy-makers, following signals by international banks that they were unwilling to continue carrying the business of regional banks.
Nandlall in a statement on Friday stated that during his tenure as Attorney General and Minister with responsibility over Guyana’s AML/CFT compliance regime, he had spent the greater part of three years battling with the Joint Opposition, in vain, to secure their support in the National Assembly to enact changes to our laws to make Guyana compliant with international standards in respect of Guyana’s AML/CFT regime.
“We explained at every available opportunity the dangers to which our nation’s financial and commercial sectors will be exposed.
We warned of the great volume of background information which will have to be supplied in relation to financial transactions both locally and across borders.
We highlighted the unnecessary expenditures which will be incurred to do business across international borders.
We emphasised the severance of relations that would take place between banks in other countries and local bank.
We predicted that international trade and commerce between local businesses and those across our borders would decline,” he remarked.
He noted that although they secured the votes of the diplomatic community, the entire private sector, the labour movement, the religious organisations and almost every civil society organisation of worth the coalition government did not budge.
“They refused to budge. They held the nation to ransom. At every meeting their political demands increased. They accused us of creating panic in the country. They claimed that we are crying wolf; that nothing will happen if the Bills are not passed.”
He added that in the end the then opposition reduced this deep-seated national issue to that of a “political football”.
“They voted down the required AML/CFT Bill twice in the Tenth Parliament. They caused CFATF to issue a series of adverse Public Statements against Guyana, informing the world that Guyana poses a threat to the global financial structures and warned countries to take the necessary steps to protect their financial landscape from the threat posed by Guyana’s financial sector,” he said, highlighting that Caricom and indeed the world took note and implemented countermeasures against Guyana.“It is now a nightmare to transact business with the local banking sectors. Businessmen can relate the ordeal which they endure daily to conduct simple business transactions. As a result, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) begun a review process of Guyana. Thus, Guyana is stained globally as a country that encourages money laundering and terrorism. A year after assuming the reins of Government, this very Joint Opposition, now in government with a controlling Parliament has been unable to extricate Guyana from the morass in which they have dumped us,” he criticised.
He opined that Attorney General Basil Williams appears shockingly clueless on how to propel the nation out of this state of international delinquency: “As if he is on a trial and error mission, he piloted four Bills, thus far, through the National Assembly. Instead of advancing out of the process, we seem to be backsliding. The level of incompetence is remarkable. He still, clumsily, blames the PPP/C administration for the technical deficiencies which afflict our system. A few days ago, he boldly informs the nation that we shall soon exit the review process.”
Nandlall questioned how is it possible to exit the review process and at the same time a huge bank, like Bank of America, cutting out.
“Someone is lying through their teeth. We continue to reel from the consequences of being an AML/CFT delinquent nation,” he said, adding that he disclosed that FATF’s latest Public Statement on Guyana contradicts the impression conveyed by the Attorney General that the country was exiting the FATF review process.
The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) quoted a November World Bank survey saying that about 75 per cent of international banks have experienced a reduction in correspondent banking services with the Caribbean being the worst affected.