Government has announced the long awaited CLICO Rescue Plan if we go by a Nation report. Unfortunately up to the time of writing the blog intimate details of the plan had not reached the public domain. There is a reasonable expectation among Barbadians given the number of policyholders et al who are affected that full disclosure of the rescue plan should not be an issue. In 2010 all* Barbadians should be able to logon to a website and read for themselves the details of the CLICO Rescue Plan.
BU’s position has been articulated in several blogs. Unfortunately the CLICO mess has become political football. No doubt mistakes were made in this matter, people who are learned in these matters have expressed opposing views to support the point. Looking back, the Office of Supervisor of Insurance has been found to be most incompetent. By extension the government both former and current must bear some responsibility by not being proactive dealing with CLICO matters. To the Leader of the Opposition who has been preaching that CLICO should be placed under judicial management, she knows that this does not represent the silver bullet which she has stridently represented on the political platform. How does she explain selling CLICO assets in an economy which is in recession? Wouldn’t this mean that buyers in the market with cash would be in a position to exploit the situation? Bear in mind CLICO has been a financial contributor to both political parties albeit heavily weighted in the Democratic Labour Party’s corner.
Here is what we know from scrapping the Nation Newspaper:
- Government’s reported rescue plan for CLICO International Life will see it add about $314 million to the country’s national debt, this amount would increase the island’s total debt by 3.4 per cent
- There are two key aspects to the rescue plan. The first relates to the portfolio of traditional life, pension and annuity
- The second aspect of the rescue relates to the Executive Flexible Premium Annuities (EFPAs), which will be separated from the rest of CLICO’s portfolio. This therefore implies that the Government of Barbados will effectively take on $314 million in Government-guaranteed debt
- Dr. Winston Moore, President of the Barbados Economic Society opined, “over the long term it is hoped that earnings from the sale of CLICO’s portfolio of traditional life, pension and annuity would be enough to repay the remaining amounts”
- Moore said it was likely that Government would raise a bond issue or borrow on the local market to fulfil the initial $44 million it planned to pay initially to individual investors of CLICO Life
- Key aspects of Government’s rescue plan include:
- state takeover of CLICO assets, the sale of CLICO International Life Insurance; Government’s taking responsibility for the EFPAs;
- no Government financial assistance for related party investments (directors, staff, management, shareholders and affiliate companies that invested in the CLICO’s EFPAs which reportedly totals $6 million);
- no Government assistance or protection for companies and governments in Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean who bought EFPAs as the Supervisor of Insurance in Barbados had ordered that selling of EFPAs to anyone other than individual investors was illegal;
- initial maximum payment of $25 000 to individual investors in Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean which should total $44 million; the sale of CLICO Holdings’ assets beginning in 2015 over a ten-year period.
Former Prime Minister Owen Arthur’s response has been quick “SOME PENSIONERS could find themselves penniless as a result of a reported multimillion-dollar plan to salvage personal investments in CLICO International Life Insurance Company (CIL), says former Prime Minister Owen Arthur” – Read full report
Whether you agree or disagree with what is know about the CLICO Rescue Plan a decision has at last been made and it will up to the a Thompsonless government to explain the details. No doubt the job of explaining, no disrespect to Acting Prime Minster Fruendel Stuart, will be left to Senator Darcy Boyce who we suspect has been the architect of the CLICO Rescue Plan.
The Barbados government from the start of the CLICO mess had a preference to sell affected CLICO companies as going concerns. Under judicial management a select band of people will become very rich and the transaction of necessity will be protracted. For now individual investors will have to make do with good faith payments offered.
Barbados Underground 
Donald Duck esq; I think this affair has now gone pass the matter of the PM’s health problem, per se. Hurricane winds are blowing in a different direction.
@checkit-out
It was on the 5.30Pm VOB newscast.
President of CIL Geofrey Brewster admitted the SOI expressed concern that the EFAP represented too heavy a mix in the CLICO portfolio. The company agreed and designed new products subsequently which also addressed the SOI concern that the EFAP was not to be issued to businesses. The president advised that CLICO redesigned the annuity to comply with SOI request. We are paraphrasing here.
Hi David; Thanks. Did he also address the concern that Trinidad has voiced about the EFPA’s being a Ponzi scheme?
No checkit-it, the news piece concentrated on Brewster’s response to the SOI which was highlighted in the Nation.
Why is it the Advocate has carried nothing on the Government’s bail out plan for clico Barbados?
ok from that article i gather clico sold some efpa to companies. they were orginal suppose to only sell to people since the form had name sex age etc. when sent to supervisor of insurance. those where sold illegal. ( ie they are liable). they SOI then said they should not be sold. and they went back and forth and seems clico was still selling them. clico then wrote a new policy other the efpa for company calling it advance performance policy. the APP was then appove for use by the SOI. Then Clico went to offer the NIB the EFPA which was illegal at and at the time since they had the APP and SOI responded that no EFPA are to be sold to companies. so i say that clico just hung themselves out to dry since they where still trying to sell the EFPA to companies long after SOI told them to stop. As for liabilities the Clico admit that it sold efpa to companies . the SOI took stance that it should not be sold. Clico then wrote a new policy for companies calling it the APP. took almost 2 year for approval etc. saying it would transfer then upon time for renewal . until that time clico is liable for the time after that time clico is still liable. since clico should of cancelled those policies immediately after SOI made them illegal. so long and short if you see class action suit from companies well government been warned.
Anthony; Which article are you paraphrasing above? Grateful if you would let us know where we can find the original article.
David: The article by Kammie Holder in today’s Nation Online (I haven’t seen the paper edition yet) seems to make a number of suggestions that CLICO was acting above board and selling 2 efpa type policies, one to individuals and one to institutions. the info from the Oversight Committee seems to suggest that the SOI had not approved the one for Institutions? It also appears to suggest that CLICO was acting contrary to the directives of the SOI prior to 2008 re. the sale of the efpas to institutions. Here’s the article
http://www.nationnews.com/articles/view/above-board/
The question still remains as to if the Government will legally be liable for the efpa’s sold to institutions?
David; I just found a short clip of the interview that Stetson Babb had yesterday afternoon with the CLICO president. It is obviously only a short portion of the whole interview (I wonder why?). The clip, taken by itself, seems to suggest that it was only in February 2008 that the SOI approved the “EFPA” for Institutions.
This thing is still murky. Does it mean that the Institutional EFPA’s were only approved after the DLP came into power? Someone like Kammie Holder or the guy at Barbados Today needs to marshall their forces and sources to do some detailed articles on the matter and clarify the issues.
The VOB webpage also indicates that the PM’s local physician will be making a statement on the PM’s health at 11.00 am today on VOB.
@checkit- out
today nation article
http://www.nationnews.com/articles/view/above-board/
and yesturday own
http://www.nationnews.com/articles/view/clico-warned/
though i think the picture caption in printed article offered more substance the body of the articles.
the paper edition had a photo of the approval of the APP for businesses by SOI. Yesterday paper picture states why SOI taught that the policy was for individual only and that all policy to companies etc should have been withdrawn. They also state in the paper that clico would transfer the cooperate EFPA to APP upon renewals. today’s paper has a letter for SOI to the NIB advising them that EFPA are not for companies. So i can assume that Clico doesn’t understand what cease and desist selling it to companies etc. mean. If they had offered them APP would be more understandable but since it was EFPA it proves Clico just ignored the SOI. so how i see it is that clico ignored SOI and still sold EFPA and didn’t cancel the one they where told to cancel. so is clico liable for them yes. will we have to also repay these polices well we might have another lawsuit for that.
@ checkit out
EFPA was never approve for institution according the SOI letter in FEB in today papers. the APP was approved which was similar to the EFPA. the SOI wrote in oct to NIB that is wasn’t approved. so why was clico trying to sell NIB the EFPA when they had the APP. all looks really fuzzy to me. but if NIB had invested guess the government might have bailed out everyone then.
If anyone needed proof that there was something sinister about the goings on at Clico following the election of 2008 it can be found in Mr. Geoffrey Brewster’s (President of Clico) comments during his interview.
Mr. Brewster said “On February 11, 2008, the Supervisor of Insurance responded to me indicating that the application for an annuity, which we call an advance performance policy, was approved. Brewster said that “the move effectively separated the individual product from that offered to corporation”.
Note fellow bloggers that from 2005 the SOI has been denying the sale of this product to corporations. Only when the DLP took office in January of 2008 did the change of heart apparently came, February 11, 2008, four days short of the DLP’d first month in office.
So under the Owen administration Clico couldn’t get this crooked policy through until Thompson, Parris friend, took over. Lets us not forget that Cow Williams said the same thing with respect to the transfer of land. Cow said that for eleven years he was trying to get over 70 acres land transferred from agriculture to housing and in three months of a DLP Government he was able to effect the transfer and without the use of the Agriculture Protection Act as promised by the DLP.
I say without apology that something stinks about Thompson’s role in the whole Clico affair. He, Parris ,Thornhill and Duprey stole the clients money from Clico and now the taxpayers are being ask to pay it back – over $314 million of it. They must be lock to hell up for it.
The way Thompson treated the SOI in this matter has left him in a state of mental depression to the point where he can no longer function in his job. If you doubt me check with his family and see. I am reliably inform that whenever Mr. Belgrave sees Thompson or Parris on TV he screams “turn it off turn it off” and starts to vomit. This is awful.
But revenge is the Lord’s and Thompson will have is day in the presence of the Lord, not that he believes in or cares about God the creator. I hope he can answers for is wicked actions.
How many person remember the way Thompson when after the former president of the City of Bridgetown Credit Union, Ms Lynette Holder when made the sensible move to get their money out of Clico. Had she not done that then members of that Credit Union would now be in the same problem as BARP.
COB’s members should thanking Ms. Holder now.
Up to now the EFPA hasn’t been approved for businesses . the APP has. so why was the EFPA being offered to the NIB when the APP was supposed to be. like I said before they defend nothing just left more holes open for people to question what was really happening at clico.
Just heard Thompson’s physician. Nothing new. Just another PR exercice. Thompson has Pancreatic cancer and is unlikely to ever lead this country effectively again. The amount of body mass that the PM has lost is a clear sign that his life expectancy is critically short. I really wish him the best.
Thompson’s clucthing on to the seat of power at this time is merely to cover up the criminal tracks left open and to stear the DLP into a safe zone, an act of impossibility.
BLP vultures smelling blood. Election campaigning in overdrive.
Let them gather.
Royal Rumble
Nothing new indeed. We advanced the diagnosis and prognosis on BU accurately months ago
HH you can go canvass for the St John seat freely now.
@Royal Rumble,
You said
“Note fellow bloggers that from 2005 the SOI has been denying the sale of this product to corporations.”
Why then did the BLP government allow Clico to keep selling these policies to non-individuals, if the SOI had said they should not? Is it that the government did not know this was taking place?
Royal Rumble; Your analyses above seem a bit harsh but are difficult to fault on a substantive basis when all the known facts are juxtaposed and analysed.
Any thoughts on why the honourable Michael Lashley was chosen as agAG for the duration of the PM’s current trip to NY although it has been put in the public domain that the person who acted in that post earlier was quite willing to continue? Any ideas on how that appointment fits into the web of circumstances surrounding the maintenance of a legacy and perhaps further protection of CLICO?
Please read my party’s 9-point plan for clico.This was given to 9 major media houses in trinidad 2 weeks ago.I wonder why they are so scared to publish it?This is press freedom for your money.A legitimate party that contested the may 24 election issues a news release and all the media houses block it – a total blackout.Why?
Enoch John; What is your party? and where can we get a copy of your 9-point plan for CLICO. I would really like to see it?
indeed. what the 9 point plan . Even if the normal media blanks you Social media can still carry your message across sometime way better than normal media would have ever had.
Enoch John; Point me to it; Please
Here is the note received from Enoch John. Have to confess not ever hearing of this party.