PM – Bank claim has nothing to do with AG

Dr. Ralph Gonsalves thinks that the judgement won by the National Commercial Bank (NCB) against its former chairman, Desmond Morgan, is no reason why Morgan’s wife, Attorney General Judith Jones-Morgan, should resign.{{more}}

The High Court has ordered Morgan, proprietor of Blue Skye Communication (SVG) Ltd., to pay the NCB EC$2.251 million as repayment for loans and interest accumulated.

“That doesn’t have anything to do with the Attorney General,” Gonsalves told SEARCHLIGHT on Monday shortly after the judgement became public.

“It would have been a different story if the Chairman of the board was Mr. Morgan. Obviously, you can’t have the Chairman of the Board being put in court by the bank of which he is the Chairman,” he said, adding, “then that would be a conflict and then she would have had to resign. That does not affect the Attorney General. The Attorney General doesn’t have anything to do with the functioning of the bank. The Attorney General is the principal legal advisor to the government, but the bank has its lawyers,” said Gonsalves, who is also a lawyer by profession.

While the NCB is owned by the state, the Bank has “a separate legal personality,” said Gonsalves, who, in his capacity as Minister of Finance, is the principal nominal shareholder of the NCB.

The three other nominal shareholders of the bank are Attorney General Judith Jones-Morgan, Director General of Finance and Planning Maurice Edwards and Fiscal Advisor to the Government C.I. Martin.

The shareholders are the goverment’s representatives at annual meetings and special meetings of the bank and appoint persons to sit on the Board of Directors of the Bank.

“If anybody owes the bank, it doesn’t matter who, they will go, they will write letters, the normal thing when you try to collect your money, because banks are usually reluctant to put people in court, every bank. It is only after a while they put you in court,” the prime minister said.

“They get a judgement against you, they execute the judgement. That has nothing to do with me. That has nothing to do with any Cabinet minister because the good governance of the bank, in accordance with the Banking Act, is that the Bank does what is required of it,” he added, saying the Board of Directors has “its obligations”.

In the High Court writ, dated May 19, 2010, the sum to be paid includes $2,001,143.09 for the amount claimed; interest at 9 percent on the sum of $1,530,551.29; interest at 10.5 percent on the sum of $225,000.00 and a further 10 percent interest on the sum of $225,580.00 along with other miscellaneous fees totalling $2,251,991.62.

Leader of the Opposition, Arnhim Eustace, said on Monday there is a “point of conflict” in that Desmond Morgan is the husband of the Attorney General. “This matter is an example of what should not happen,” he said.

Eustace however said he was pleased with the course of action taken by the bank. “I am happy that the bank is making an effort to get back its money,” Eustace said, adding “What the bank is doing is, it is doing its job.”

Up to press time Wednesday, Searchlight was unsuccessful in its attempts to reach Jones-Morgan for a comment. (KXC)