Pool CLICO assets to give shareholders a fair share – PM

While the government of St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) is advocating that the resources of CLICO International Life (CIL) around the region be pooled so that all shareholders receive a fair share, some other governments disagree and are looking out only for their citizens.

“This is a long struggle, you know, unfortunately a lot of people are suffering, but we have made some advances with BAICO, particularly with the smaller policyholders,” Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves told reporters on Monday at Cabinet Room.

He said he is still awaiting documents he requested on the matter, but the work is continuing to get all the assets of the failed companies to come into one pool.

The Prime Minister said it would be unfair for people in one country, for example Barbados or St Lucia, where the assets are located, to get the benefit of those assets which were purchased using premiums collected from policyholders in other countries like SVG.

“We don’t have the assets here equivalent to what the premium payments were. So, it’s clear that that money has to be in assets in other countries and in other places,” said Gonsalves.

He said some countries are clearly trying to see if they could hold on to the assets they have to give to their citizens, because the liabilities are more than the assets, so the pool would be diluted if more liabilities go to that pool.

“If other countries’ liabilities go to that pool, rather than somebody getting 70 cents of the dollar or 60 cents out of the dollar and somebody else get 10 cents out of the dollar, let everybody get 30 cents or 40 cents whatever comes out in the wash.

Last week, CIL announced that they will cease in the upcoming months, all operations including branch operations in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG). Policyholders have been advised that they will receive individual letters with further updates on the situation in due course.

Policyholders are also being advised that they would receive communication with the next steps in relation to existing policies by the end of June 2020.

In January 2009 the Trinidad and Tobago-based CL Financial Limited (CLF) and related companies (BAICO, CLICO and CIL) presented a major financial shock to the Caribbean when they crashed due to bad investments made worse by the global financial meltdown.