Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Dominica Agricultural Industrial and Development Bank (DAIDB/AID Bank), Martin Charles, is commending the Government of Dominica for being “visionary and forward thinking” in not privatizing the financial institution.
According to him, in 2005 the Government of Dominica commissioned the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to conduct a review of the bank and one recommendation was its privatization.
“A report was submitted with various recommendations, one of which was not accepted by the government,” Charles said at the institution’s 22nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) which took place at the Krazy Koconuts on Wednesday. “The government in its wisdom did not agree to the privatization of the bank. This is one of the many brave, courageous, visionary and forward thinking and wise decisions that our government has taken in the best interest of the our beloved country.”
He stated that because of this decision, the bank has enabled its clients to access loans at concessionary rates and the bank has seen a more productive and settled staff.
Charles also described 2014 as “one of the most challenging year the bank has ever experienced in its 43-year history.”
Despite this the AID Bank recorded a net profit of $1.12-million, which grew by 9.85 per cent compared to restated net profit of $1.03 million in the previous financial year.
The quality of the loan portfolio continued to improve with the non-performing loans ratio falling to a new low of 10.72 per cent or 2.56 percentage points lower than the previous year’s figure of $13.28 per cent, according to bank reports.
The AID Bank also launched two products: the Women Entrepreneur’s (WE) Fund and the Startup Stars.
The WE Fund is a loan facility which is open to women 18 years and above who are involved in agriculture, agribusiness or any other business enterprise. Successful applicants will be able to access up to $30,000 with an interest rate from five per cent.
The Startup Stars is for young entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 and 35, who will be eligible for a maximum of $50,000 loan with an interest rate of five percent subject to the customer meeting the Bank’s criteria.
The things that people say to keep their nose brown is laughable. The role of the Aid Bank to Dominica was not the current labor Party idea. Aid bank was there before them and has played the same role for many years. I am not sure why the government must be commended for keeping the bank as it was intended
Can anyone of you with all the negative comments actually do what he is doing? No i don’t think so! So instead of sitting behind a phone or computer screen and critiquing the situation and making it political I suggest you shut your mouth because it is pure and utter rubbish! Not evethting has to be political! Just because he is a labourite?? SMDH get a life
Don’t you mean “criticizing” instead of “critiquing” my friend. They are two different things.
So much negativity!!
It’s funny how dominicans ca be so negative…Then talk about the country is going nowhere! Why don’t y’all get up and actually do some work instead of sitting and critiquing other people! SMDH
What kind of banker who is still campaigning?
So the net growth profit of the bank from 2013 to 2014 is 90,000EC dollars. This is deplorable and alarming for a financial institution that has been open for 43years.
The decision to privatize the bank or make the GOVT a minority owner is a no brainer with these atrocious performance results. This is simple why they have limited money to lend because this bank is not making money.
If would be interesting to know the revenues of the bank in year 2014 that book them an increase net profit EC$90,000……FAILED INSTITUTION!!!!!!
If this chairman is satisfied with this performance, he should be fired.
This only goes to show how we accept mediocrity in Dominica.
I remember a time not too long ago when the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) deferred about $15 million dollars in profit one year because they did not want to report a billion dollars in profit for that year. Now they report more than that a quarter. That is what performance is all about. Don’t fret over the numbers, compare the percentage growth over the years and then come back and talk about vision.
Would any of you buy shares in that company? I wouldn’t.
Oh Martin, Martin, Martin…..how loud will ye sing thy god’s song? Stop belching bubbles in peoples ears Martin and get on with the program. You make me sick with that BS.
Assertive, NOT Aggressive!
Mr.Martin Charles has been on the board of AID Bank for over 10 years now. Don’t we ever seek change in Dominica. The same people year after year with no vision. Does that mean we don’t have any other competent people out there that can lend their new vision to the AID Bank.
Sounds more like he is at a election campaign rally than giving an address as the Chairman of the Bank. These guys just do not know how to separate politics and campaigning from public affairs. Guess they have to keep singing for their supper.
pure nonsense! Common sense not so common anymore
They have not privatized it YET. Govt. likes to pat itself on the back.
By the way Mr. Martin Charles, I know you love PM Skerrit just as I love him. Now is time to demonstrate your love for him by telling him that a healthy body is more important talk and he needs to take some time to take care of himself because he does not sound well neither looks well.
Martin Charles needs to tell us if AID Bank still stands for “Agricultural Investment (AID) Bank” or Airport Investment Bank. We know Agriculture is dead and Martin Charles was on a trip with Skerrit to talk international airport. So maybe Martin needs to give us a progress report on the International Airport talk instead of anything else.
Mr. Charles accompanied mr. Skerrit on a visit to meet with the privately owned Anhui Shuian Construction Company (ASGC0 and a MOU was signed for the construction of an airport, 5-star hotel and a hospital , to the tune of U.S.$.300 million. The hotel was supposed to be built first but it gets muddled because mr. Skerrit also seperately accepted U.S.10 million from the Chines govt. at the end of 2012 for the construction of the same hospital. If you think I am confused you are right! What mr. Charles- and his bank’s role were in all this only the good Lord above knows.
That was so odd. When the P.M. met with that company in China on 8 Nov. 2013, Martin Charles was presented as “assistant to Mr. Skerrit”. What role, what function did he play at that meeting? Wouldn’t it have been more appropriate to have Julius Corbette there, who runs the bank on a-day-to-day basis? There was also another character present, Robert Woe Yao, listed as “official of the Commonwealth of Dominica”. I have never heard of this individual before or since.
Who is he? Is he on the payroll of our govt. or that of David Xu, who was also at the meeting in the official guise of “Special envoy of the Commonwealth of Dominica” – Ambassador in all but name.
I have never heard more nonsense in my life. A bank with new income of $1.12 million EC is your idea of vision? This is like walking on the edge of a cliff at all times. You have no margin for error.
Perhaps Mr. Martin should compare the performance of that bank with the others on the island and then he can tell us if that decision was in fact visionary.
You serious. You mean a net profit of 1.2 million dollars for a development bank in cash strapped economy, when customers, turned critics of the bank and government are not paying their debt, where new money is hard to come by, you mean the profit margin is of no consequence to to you Sir. The other banks are commercial banks. Their objective is to make profit at al costs. So if they have to raise their interest rates to 15% they will just to make a profit. “Wheel and come again”.
Boss a bank is supposed to be a very SOLID financial institution. A place where people can place their money and go to bed soundly.
Notwithstanding the mandate of the bank, it has an obligation to its shareholders and depositors. That comes from making profit, not just barely getting by. When you are barely eking out a profit that does not inspire confidence, at least not in my books.
Tell me who would buy shares in a “Development Bank” because of the very nature and mandate of a Development Bank, which is for economic development and not necessrily for profit making.
Jane. I don’t think you can buy shares in the AID bank . It almost 90% owned by Govt. and the rest by DSS (Dominica Social Security).
Martin enjoy it while you can,the empire is begining to crumble,Skerrit make sur you wear your red tie,bunch of hogwash
2 Corinthians 10:12 ….but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.
What do we expect from Martin Charles? Can we separate Skerrit from Martin Charles? Wasn’t this same Martin Charles taken on a trip to China with Skerrit in May 2014, along with Steve Ferrol for International Airport talk? So what do we not expect to hear from Martin Charles?
You would say that Martin, otherwise you would not have a job as chairman, would you?
You are so RIGHT ! Boy, boy, boy…. One will NEVER beleive
what MC said about Intergrety in public office ! ! !
This is pure political jealousy!!