July 28, 2012, St John’s Antigua – Former ABI Bank board member George Ryan has given unreserved approval of the measure to give the Central Bank power to take action when the character and performance of banking officers are in question.

The proposed new power is enshrined in the Banking Amendment Act 2012, which was approved unopposed by the lower house on Friday.

Ryan says such oversight is long overdue.

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Sometimes, the public fears a person or institution granted news powers may wind up abusing them.

Ryan doesn’t think such fear is applicable where the Central Bank governor is concerned.

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The new powers will mean authority for the Central Bank to inform a bank of its concerns that it may have questionable personnel and oblige the organization to take remedial action.

The development follows a run in 2009 on Bank of Antigua, now Eastern Caribbean Amalgamated, after Allen Stanford’s operations in Houston were shut down by the US government.

The proposed law also follows Central Bank intervention a year ago at ABI Bank, whose cash fell low enough that it was deemed a threat to the banking system.

Meantime… Ryan has renewed his call for an investigation into what led to the need for an intervention at ABI.