Gov’t reviews soft loan facility at AID Bank

The AID Bank

The Government of Dominica has reviewed the conditions of a soft loan facility set up at the AID Bank for farmers, manufacturers, and those engaged in the tourism sector.

According to Prime Minister, Roosevelt Skerrit, the loans will be easier to access by those involved in these sectors and will assist the private sector to grow after the ravages of Hurricane Maria.

According to Skerrit after consultations with the relevant associations, cabinet has reviewed the terms and conditions of funds totaling $35 million available at the AID Bank.

“Based on the proposals from the various stakeholders and on advice from the ministries of tourism, agriculture, and commerce, the Cabinet took a decision yesterday to review these loans. One of the decisions we took is to review the interest rate from an all-time low of 3 percent to a further low of 2 percent,” he stated.

Skerrit explained that under tourism the facility will be extended to property owners who house Ross Medical students to “help repair their apartments, to buy new mattresses, for those who had flooding, and appliances.”

He said cabinet will sign the amendments this week Friday and the new facility will be available on December 11.

“My public advice both to the private sector and the AID Bank is that, with respect to the private sector, ensure that you have all your documents before you submit to the bank and that the bank has to be a little bit (less) tardy with the disbursement strategy,” he remarked.

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24 Comments

  1. UKDominican
    December 7, 2017

    This is ridiculous. That same bank offers a “competitive” rate (their words, not mine) Of 8% for students on a reducing balance. This is our country’s future we are talking about, investing in human corn seed! But if you are an apartment owner in Portsmouth you can get money from the same bank at 2%? Are we crazy or what mr. Charles and Mr. Skerrit? Favours for the boys again.

    • 4Eva tru
      December 7, 2017

      Well most of them don’t even come back to dominica when they get their degree. So your point is?

      • Anonymous
        December 7, 2017

        Do the apartment owners in Possie share their profits with other Dominicans?

    • DominicanDominican
      December 8, 2017

      UKDominican, if you are familiar with lending and on-lending, you would already know of the term “line of credit”. As such, different financiers lend at particular rates that the on-lenders (the bank for example) will have to on-lend at rates enough to satisfy their lenders and their own operations.
      The AID Bank is, as you already know, UKDominican, a development bank. The reason for these new rates are in an effort to bring Dominica to a closer state of normalcy. Development, get it?
      Instead of being so negative in your anonymity, maybe take a positive spin on things and try to understand how they really work.
      Negativity is the thief that steals happiness, UKDominican. Have a great weekend.

      • UKDominican
        December 8, 2017

        Listen you pretend wizard. It is very simple, our students have to pay 8% for a loan whereas property owners in Portsmouth pay only 2%. It is the same money from the same bank and if you want to talk about development it is questionable if the development of our young talent is at least not as important as the profits of the landlords in Portsmouth. This puts the government, who control this bank, in a bad light. They are the ones that create negative vibes.

  2. Anonymous
    December 7, 2017

    Would the owner of the villas at Savane Paille qualify for such a soft loan also?

  3. Corruption in passport
    December 7, 2017

    Not under nine months they will be coming to dominica

    • Me
      December 8, 2017

      Do they have to get pregnant first?

  4. Progress
    December 6, 2017

    What needs to be done is to do a review of the present GM and the Board of Directors. He states “the bank has to be less tardy in the operations”. This is not the first time that we hear the PM scold AID BANK for their inefficiencies, yet still we keep on leaving the same management and expect better. This country called Dominica alas. Have a GM with no experience acting and we expect better…smh

  5. Bro
    December 6, 2017

    Will farmers be able to buy a vehicle using this new soft loans? I asked two weeks ago and they said it for tools. I said a truck is an essential farm tool they said no. I asked could I use the loan to buy a tractor? They said yes- but not on a truck. AID bank logic. Same for rebuilding my shed.
    Basically this loan is just to pay workers, buy basic inputs and small tools. Farmers can’t progress using this facility, it is designed to keep us poor. Complex farm investments like road cutting, irrigation systems, ‘climate resilient’ sheds, or even a simple truck… This ain’t for u.
    What I found most offensive was the fact they asked who I was selling too, so that they would vouch for me, and then duct from my sales. I mean, huskters don’t even pay us farmers upfront and in many causes delinquent in payment, u want us farmers to trust them with payments? You don’t even respect us to put money on our own loan? In which other business loan requires the buyer vouch for the seller?

  6. My name
    December 6, 2017

    So no Parliament meetings or discussions that is so low. NO meetings with the Opposition???

  7. Francisco Etienne-Dods Telemaque
    December 6, 2017

    What is a soft loan?

    I ask that question because the term “soft loan” seems to exists only in Dominica. There is no such thing as a soft loan in banking any place on earth! I defy Roosevelt to give me an international definition of the word “soft loan.” If they can that definition would be exclusively from a Dominica diction, and vocabulary.

    The first person I heard otter that word is Ian Douglas more than twenty years ago,when he said the he and the  Labor Party will get a soft loan interest free to build International Airport; to this day more than twenty years later Ian and his labor party have yet to obtain their soft loan interest free to build airport.

    Roosevelt Skerrit, Ian Douglas, where is Dominica’s International Airport?

    • bause
      December 6, 2017
    • Jo1
      December 6, 2017

      A soft loan is a loan with a very low interest rate. Soft loans are usually made to developing countries or to businesses in developing countries.
      https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/soft-loan

    • 4Eva tru
      December 7, 2017

      A soft loan[1] is a loan with a below-market rate of interest. This is also known as soft financing. Sometimes soft loans provide other concessions to borrowers, such as long repayment periods or interest holidays. Soft loans are usually provided by governments to projects they think are worthwhile. The World Bank and other development institutions provide soft loans to developing countries. Plp like you will always mislead. You are evil all you do is come on DNO to get attention and play like you have all the sense in the world where as you know nothing and your followers and them just following with all your foolishness.

    • Breathe
      December 7, 2017

      International definition: A “soft-loan” is a loan with a below-market interest rate or a loan on very concessionary terms.

    • Jubal
      December 7, 2017

      Stop sounding like an idiot because u don’t like skerrit or the Labour Party. U don’t even know there is a term soft loan because is the first government in dominica history that provide it to its people.

    • Soft Loan
      December 7, 2017

      What is a soft loan?
      A soft loan is a loan with a below-market rate of interest. This is also known as soft financing. Sometimes soft loans provide other concessions to borrowers, such as long repayment periods or interest holidays. Soft loans are usually provided by governments to projects they think are worthwhile.

      • Yo Yo
        December 7, 2017

        Funny how plenty people come out to answer the question of soft loans, but when questions are asked about monfared, the 100 million regarding Venezuela the 50,000 from compass bank etc etc all of a sudden we have silence, it appears it is easy to answer soft questions while pushing reality aside.

      • Me
        December 9, 2017

        Would a frozen loan be a hard loan?

    • Concern Citizen
      December 7, 2017

      This Francisco is such an idiot thinks he knows it all.

  8. Dominican
    December 6, 2017

    Why preferential treatment for landlords renting to Ross tenants? Aren’t other hospitality providers equally effected? This coul be interpreted as favouritism for the Possie mob, close friends of Roosevelt Skerrit. This is very sensitive and everyone should be seen to be treated equally.

    • Too Hard Too Long.
      December 6, 2017

      I would think that this is to speed up readiness to host Ross University students.

      • Me
        December 6, 2017

        I have not heard they are coming back, have you?

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