Shareholders of Building and Loan to hold meeting at Methodist Church Hall

A meeting of shareholders of the St Vincent Building and Loan Association is to be held next week.{{more}}

The meeting is being called by a group of shareholders who say their objective is to save the financial institution, which has been in existence since 1941.

At a media conference on Wednesday, community activist Junior Bacchus, along with two other shareholders, Cools Vanloo and Jeannie Ollivierre said the meeting will be held at the Methodist Church Hall on Thursday, February 21, at 5 p.m.

They say all shareholders and depositers should attend to vent their issues concerning the organisation and decide on the way forward.

The Building and Loan Association has been in the news for almost a month, since the publication of a letter, written by economist Luke Browne, which questioned whether the institution was on the “brink of collapse”.

The letter caused a run on the institution, and on February 1, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) took over management and control of the Association and its subsidiaries.

According to Bacchus, after action was taken by the FSA to intervene and disband the board of directors of the institution, he, Ollivierre and Vanloo took the initiative to contact “a few persons” who have been frequently attending the annual meetings of association.

“We decided with the way things have been going with the back and forth of Building and Loan, there is already a lack of confidence in the Association and people are demanding their monies. If that is to continue, thousands of Vincentians will lose their monies,” Bacchus said.

Bacchus said they want to get from the membership, their concerns as members and what are the possible directions for the BLA.

“We hope that the appropriate authorities can engage shareholders at this critical juncture in the history of this organisation… We want to see this organisation continue to serve future generation of Vincentians.

He said it is hoped that the authorities are responsive to their engagement.

Bacchus also said that the sole cause of the meeting is to ensure the survival, growth and further development of the organisation and its 20,000 members.

He said if the institution takes a downward turn and people can’t get back their money, there could be chaos, violence and riots.

“The lives of people can be at risk, if we allow that association to get to that point. It’s poor people who have money in that association,” Bacchus said.

“Come and let us put together a plan to engage with the relevant authorities to restore confidence and save Building and Loan Association. We cannot sit idly by and allow BLA to collapse…,” Bacchus said.

Bacchus said they will be looking to elect a group to interface on behalf of the shareholders, since it will be difficult for an organisation of 20,000 members to engage in discussions with the FSA. (KW)