UK being our guarantor means BVI doing well
Dr Kedrick Pickering
Deputy Premier Dr Kedrick Pickering has said the United Kingdom’s decision to become a loan guarantor for the BVI is testament that the territory has been doing well financially.
The UK government has offered £300 million in loan guarantees so the BVI can borrow to finance its Recovery and Development Plan.
“They (the UK) trust us to manage our own affairs and because they want to see us get back on our feet as quickly as possible, they are prepared to help us along that path. The way they are prepared to help us is to guarantee us some money,” Dr Pickering reasoned.
“The British Government has said categorically that they see the BVI as a mature country,” Dr Pickering added. “We have been able to manage our affairs well up to this point.”
UK loan guarantee a positive
The Deputy Premier said the territory will benefit from low-interest loan rates thanks to the UK’s triple-A rating, which is the highest possible rating that can be given to a country.
A triple-A rating means there is a strong possibility that the borrowing country will meet its financial commitments – hence being able to access loans at lower interest rates.
“If we went and borrowed money on our own – and there are limitations to that – we would have to borrow money at an interest rate of somewhere between three and five percent depending on where you get the money from,” he said.
“The British government can borrow money on the international market for something like 0.07 percent interest rate,” he reasoned.
“What they are saying is we will use all the goodwill that we have internationally and allow you to borrow the money at these low rates than if you would get on your own. In that regard, we (UK) are prepared to allow you (BVI) to borrow up to £300 million,” Dr Pickering explained.
Copyright 2024 BVI News, Media Expressions Limited. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or distributed.
At last some one is getting the message out that without the UK guarantee the interest rate will be a lot higher. The transparency and management that will be a condition of the loan guarantee support will only help the Territory improve itself and spend the reconstruction finance wisely.
I am for the Agency but he is wrong. The agency is because the UK doesn’t trust the NDP.
There is also another point: if the UK is guaranteeing our loans, they have a vested interest in protecting the BVI’s economy and its economic development.
That makes them a valuable ally when the EU or the OECD try to implement initiatives which are destructive of the BVI’s economic prospects.
What? When did European nations last try to harm us? I thought Lord Nelson settled this for us a long time ago. We don’t need to build a wall or a modern fort, or even an extension to the runway to avoid the next French Invasion, we need responsible planning and management.
Above all, we need a public discussion on what our nation’s recovery priorities should be. Why haven’t the ministers shared their plan with us that they submitted to the UK last November? Why don’t we get to comment on our future? Will this fine newspaper please publish the Recovery Plan? Thank you,
Why TF you l—g? … OHMMM my God Stop! UK backing means before we know it our election going be a memory or just a dream.
This man loosing it? The UK nor the people don’t trust the NDP.
VIP: We are going to CDB for $15 mil for infrastructure projects.
UK Response: NO WAY!!!! We will not allow it as you guys have been totally reckless!
NDP (re-elected): We will access that CDB $15 mil to repair our damaged infrastructure.
UK Response: No problem!
Result: NDP got the loan and it’s still being used to date!
NDP (after-Irma): We estimate our damage at around $3B in totality and that Government’s part of the recovery may be up to $700Mil over the next 3-5yrs.
UK Response: We will send assistance for schools, police and other security, will provide grants and apart from what’s necessary under the protocols, we are willing to guarantee up to $400Mil USD for you to borrow over the next few years for recovery, which will ensure swift approval by banks at very low interest rates. Only thing we want in return is an agency headed by a local who will manage the process while liaising with the Ministries to ensure that projects are handled.
This is all facts. Now tell me who the UK trusts and who they don’t trust. You can’t make up your own facts, no matter how many times you say the same nonsense that doesn’t make it true. If someone doesn’t trust you can you get them to co-sign on a loan with you knowing that if you default they have to pay it?
I have lost respect for the government in general and … They are not close to the men that were initially elected to serve way back when. Those men wanted better for their country and seemingly believed in transparency and good governance.
They now seem to be shells of their former selves beholden to lobbyists and oblivious to the lack of accountability they once fought against. Someone once said, you should leave politics before your expiration date. It would do both men well to heed that lesson.
We are doing good because most of the politician buying or building houses all around the globe
Just a quick point of clarification, given the mansplaining about what credit ratings mean in the article, the UK credit rating was downgraded to AA by S&P and Fitch in June 2016, and to AA2 by Moodys in Sept 2017, not AAA.
Oh boy! Here is a news flash. The UK is not guaranteeing/co-signing the £300M loan because the BVI is doing well financially. The UK is the VI/BVI Mother country so it is expected that it will come to the BVI aid in a disaster. If your Mother won’t co-sign/gurantee a loan for you though it had the ability to, why would strangers/others?
Undoubtedly, the BVI, having been ravaged by two major Cat 5 hurricanes, Irmaria, is in need of funding to rebuild/recover and we should thank the UK taxpayers for their assistance. True, with the UK as the loan guarantor, the VI can borrow money at a lower APR, paying millions less in interest over the life of the loan and putting more work in place.
Nonetheless, let’s not get carried away with the spinning and getting things twisted. Would it not have been sweet if the UK taxpayers had given the BVI the £300M as a grant? Yes. What did Netherlands and France do in Sint/Saint Maarten/Martin and other dependencies?
Moreover, Dr. Hon. Deputy Premier/MLNR, Rep-7, says, The British Government has said categorically that they see the BVI as a mature country,” Dr Pickering added. “We have been able to manage our affairs well up to this point.” Really! If this is so, why is the UK imposing an Agency/Board to monitor and manage any recovery loans? Does this action (whether it was initiated by the VI or UK) evokes trust, confidence…….etc in the BVI managing its financial resources?
I believe the UK would have treated the BVI better e.g a grant if they had more respect and love for their mother country. Those people tried to help after the flood and they made them feel like filt now look they need their help. Sorry to say but the bvi bad ways turn on them.
The fact is even if the UK was giving us $400mil in grants people would still be against it claiming some conspiracy bullsh-t. We have told the UK over and over that we don’t want them in our affairs and we can handle ourselves. We never begged them for anything so why should they give us a handout. We can pay our loans and the guarantee helps with favorable and swifter lending from banks. When will the madness end.
The money coming in will be beneficial to the territory but for everything there comes a cost that may only hurt the people of the territory in the long run.
I do not know how this man could begin to entertain the thought that the UK must be happy with the way we have been managing our financial affairs when there is so much evidence of mismanagement and waste of public funds under this NDP administration. I am talking about the $40mill overrun on the TPP, the $50mill overrun on the hospital, the 5 plus mill wasted on greenhouses, 7 plus mill handed over to a defunct airline and not a plane in the sky to date. That CDB loan that was spent on the roads and there are absolutely no proper roads to show for it. Need I go on?
He’s been on the w—–y b—y again, … I guess because he’s there he helps make the Premier and Minister of Finance look competent!!! Shame M—- has been silenced often he was the only member of the NDP that you actually believed in could make a difference ….