BRIDGETOWN, Barbados–This country’s Small Business Association (SBA) is calling for the inclusion of credit unions in the government program to make it easier for small businesses to access funding.
Credit unions are not among financial institutions involved in the $70 million Central Bank-administered Enhanced Credit Guarantee Fund launched approximately eight months ago, according to Barbados Today.
SBA Chief Executive Officer Lynette Holder said credit unions ought to be allowed to issue funds under the program, Barbados Today reported.
“The Small Business Association has called for the credit unions to be included in this particular fund . . . yes, there are several financial intermediary organizations that have been identified and we are pleased that First Citizens Bank has been one of the first to be able to access the Guarantee Fund for the sector. But we are calling for credit unions to be also included on the list of approved intermediaries that the sector can go to and that those credit unions can also access that Guarantee Fund to provide the funding…”
In Barbados the program is being financed by the Inter-American Development Bank and the China Co-financing Fund for Latin America and the Caribbean. It provides loans of up to $2 million to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with no more than 20 employees and annual sales or total assets not exceeding $20 million.
Steve Belle, CEO of City of Bridgetown Credit Union, told Barbados Today he agrees credit unions should be involved in the loan scheme.
“When the fund actually came out we lobbied for it but they said it was only relevant for commercial banks, which we thought rather strange,” Belle told Barbados Today. “We are hoping that the Minister [of Finance] will take the advice of what the CEO of the SBA is saying, and what we have been calling for since the fund has been launched – to actually allow credit unions to be part and parcel of this initiative.”