Email

Print

The budget presentation will be made at a special sitting of the House on Monday. But that special sitting will also feature the debate on four bills concerning the banking sector The Bills of note are the Central Bank of Belize Amendment Act, the Banks and Financial Institutions Amendment Act 2010 and the Treasury Bills Amendment Act 2010. PUP Deputy Leader Mark Espat says the bills seek to force the Commercial Banks to buy government’s treasury bills and notes.

Hon. Mark Espat, PUP Deputy Leader
“More importantly the government has promulgated legislation that will now allow the Central Bank in effect to force the commercial banks to hold specific proportions of government debt in the form of Treasury Bills and Treasury notes. And there are those who see this as a sinister backdoor attempt to get government’s hands on the savings of individuals and businesses because after all if you force the commercial banks to use its deposits to purchase government debts then it is really the savings of businesses and individuals that are being used to fund government.

The other main thrust is that the government is increasing by double, it is multiplying by two the ceiling on Treasury Bills which are short term debt instruments that the government uses and it is multiplying by three the amount of longer term Treasury Notes which are debts that the government issues. There is a net increase of a whopping $250 million in the amount of money that the government will be able to borrow from principally the Central Bank and forcing commercial banks to buy its debt with the savings that are deposited in the commercial institutions.

I think firstly Jules the government needs to come clean and I would expect that when these Bills are debated in the House, if not before, it did not happen last week at the House Committee that considered these Bills, that the government comes clean and if it is seeking to increase by $250 million its source of domestic borrowing then it should make clear that this is the way it plans to finance the deficit, this is the way it plans to help fund government.”

We made a request for an interview in writing – as is required from the Governor of the Central Bank Glenford Ysaguirre and got no response. We left a voicemail for the Chairman of the Central Bank Board Allan Slusher and also got no response.