Central Bank of Barbados


The Central Bank of Barbados is the national monetary authority responsible for providing advice to the Government of Barbados on banking and other financial and monetary matters. The Central Bank of Barbados, was established by Act of parliament on 2 May 1972. Prior to the establishment of CBB, Barbados' monetary policies were governed through its membership in the Eastern Caribbean Currency Authority. The Central Bank operates as the banknote issuing authority for Barbadian currency.
The name of the Central Bank's building is the Tom Adams Financial Centre, which is a ten-storey building located on Spry Street in Bridgetown. As part of the complex, there is a 491-seat theatre/auditorium known as the Frank Collymore Hall. The building was constructed between 1982 and 1986 and it was opened September 18th 1986.
The Global Competitiveness Report for 2008–09 ranked the soundness of Barbados's commercial banks as 21st out of 134 global jurisdictions assessed.

Role

At its inception the Central Bank of Barbados had certain objectives.
These were:
Today the regulatory capacity of the central bank handles the issuance of Barbadian banknotes and coins, and licensing of agencies such as: banks, investment businesses, depository trust and finance companies. It also undertakes supervision of Barbadian financial institutions, credit worthiness of the financial system, administering of the international reserves, and reporting regularly to the country on the national finances.
The Barbadian economy is reviewed regularly by several notable Wall Street investment firms including: PricewaterhouseCoopers, Standard & Poor's, and Moody's.

Organisation

The head of the Central Bank is the governor, who is appointed by the Minister of Finance.
The current governor of the Central Bank of Barbados is Mr. Cleviston Haynes as of January 2018.
The Bank also has two Deputy Governors in the persons of Mrs. Michelle Doyle Lowe and Mr. Michael D Carrington, both in acting capacities.

Past Central Bank Governors