The mortgage market in Barbados could be in for a substantial change, with one of the major players about to change hands with its ownership.
But an interesting point surrounding the issue is that at the end of the day all depends on the decision of the Board of Directors of CLICO Mortgage and Finance Company (CMFC).
The government committee that was chosen to handle the issues surrounding CLICO assets in May, has made a decision regarding who they believe made the best offer for CLICO Mortgage and Finance. That recommendation points to the direction of Barbados Public Workers Cooperative Credit Union Limited, the largest credit union in Barbados. Other bids came from Consolidated Finance, the largest finance house in Barbados and Barbados National Bank (BNB).
Though the final decision on which bid to accept lies with the CLICO board of Directors, and that decision has not yet been handed down, BNB is a subsidiary of Republic Bank of Trinidad and Tobago it has been reported that that firm is in the process of amending its bid for the mortgage company.
The seven member board of Directors of the mortgage firm include; Leroy Parris who is the Executive Chairman of CLICO Holdings Barbados Ltd, the Parent company of CMFC, Leslie Haynes who is a practicing attorney at law and Terrence Thornhill is the President of Clico Holdings (Barbados) Ltd, Woodbine Davis is the immediate past Chairman of the Board of Directors of CMFC. Additionally the non-executive members of the board include; Tony Marshall who joined the CMFC Board in 2001, Vishnu Ramlogan who joined the CMFC board in 2001 and Anthony Ellis who became member of the CMFC’s Board of Directors in 2003.
Moreover until the final decision is handed down by CLICO Board of Directors everyone involved waits with bated breath on the decision.
BNB already owns Barbados Mortgage and Finance Company (BMFC), which is one of this country’s leading mortgage firms. BMFC has an outstanding mortgage asset of $316.5 million at the end of 2008. Net Income after tax for BMFC for the period ended September 2008 was $6.21 million, an increase of $1.10 million or 21% over the net income of $5.11 for 2007. Meanwhile in 2008, CLICO Mortgage and Finance recorded a $2 million profit.
It is believed that the Barbados Public Workers Cooperative Credit Union will not make any major changes to the firm but bring significant investment to the firm and put it back on more solid ground.
Six months ago, the Central Bank of Barbados put forward $10 million to the disposal of CLICO Mortgage and Finance as a safeguard following the difficulties of C.L Financial Holdings the parent company in Trinidad and Tobago.
