Found at: http://www.anguillaguide.com/article/articleprint/4026/-1/140/
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ADB GETS USD5 MILLION LOAN For Housing, Projects, Student Loans
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The Anguilla Development Board (ADB) is again in a substantial position to provide a good amount of financing for many persons on the island. A loan of US$5 million, the equivalent of EC$13.5 million, has just been announced by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB). The money is to finance agriculture, industry and commerce projects, medium and small enterprise projects, mortgage financing projects and student loans. These are critical areas in which many low-income persons find difficulty in accessing the normal lending institutions, according to Anguilla’s Minister of Finance, Victor Banks.
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CDB and ADB officials
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The funding, called the “Fifth Consolidated Line of Credit”, was announced on Monday this week by Jean Bell, Investment Officer with the Private Sector Development Division of the CDB Projects Department. The announcement was made at the start of a Project Launch Workshop held at the Teachers’ Resource Centre.
“The Government of Anguilla is grateful to the Caribbean Development Bank for its ongoing support in partnering with us in the development of the people of Anguilla,” Mr. Banks said at the occasion. “This is the fifth time, during the 28-year life of the Anguilla Development Board, that the CDB has supported us in this way.”
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L-R: Carl Harrigan, Calvert Carty, Hon. Victor Banks and Ms. Jean Bell
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Speaking following remarks by ADB Board Member, Calvert Carty, Banks noted that the Anguilla Development Board was in competition with a number of commercial institutions. He stated that these institutions “now see the wisdom in the philosophy of the Anguilla Development Board, and other Boards and Banks ... throughout the region, that there is a need to support the small enterprises and those persons who cannot access loan opportunities in the normal way from the commercial lending institutions.” He said that such support was “critical to the overall national development of all the territories in the Caribbean.”
The Minister went on: “The Government of Anguilla fully supports this idea. The Anguilla Development Board is 100 percent owned by the Government and we have the responsibility to make sure that it remains focussed on those things which are important for the people whom we represent.”
Mr. Banks added that the Government would join the CDB in providing financing for the ADB to strengthen its capacity to assist the people of the island. He did not say how much the Government would contribute.
Ms Bell, the CDB Investment Officer, explained that of the five million US dollars, 2.3 million would be used to assist in the financing of productive sector projects including small enterprises; 1.6 million for mortgage finance; and 1.1 million, including 0.3 million (300,000), for the special student loans programme.
The loan, bearing an interest rate of 6%, is repayable over a 12-year period with a grace period of five years. The loan is expected to be fully committed by December 31, 2008 and to be fully disbursed by December 31, 2010.
According to Ms Bell, the aim of the project is to contribute to a higher rate of economic growth in the productive sectors in Anguilla; increase and enhance the housing stock; and increase the human resource development capacity.
She gave two reasons for the timeliness of the project: the need for businesses in Anguilla to implement measures to improve their competitiveness; and the Government’s economic policy and its efforts to promote economic diversification.
The CDB official pointed out that the loan would be used to finance sub-loans of up to 80% of the total cost for new projects; and up to 100% of the expansion cost of an existing operation. This is provided that the owner’s equity in the total project represents 10% of the total cost.
The workshop which followed the opening ceremony, dealt with various matters concerning the administration of the loan funds. The facilitators were Ms Bell; Ann Marie Chandler, Operations Officer in the CDB Project Supervision Division; Maria Blackman, Administrative Assistant; and George Kirnon and Gail Royer, Legal Counsel with the CDB.