FICS Reassures Customers After ECCB Puts Administrator to Oversee Operations

Financial Investment and Consultancy Services Limited (FICS) has assured customers of its stability following the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank’s (ECCB) decision to appoint an official administrator for the company.

On January 6, the ECCB announced that Niguel Streete, a senior finance professional with over 30 years of regulatory experience across the Caribbean, would oversee FICS’ management and operations.

While the ECCB did not specify the reasons for the appointment, it stated the move was in line with its powers under Part IX, Section 114 of the Banking Act, 2015. That portion of the legislation outlines several reasons for the appointment of an administrator.

Though not saying what triggered the move, FICS Chairman Lorne Theophilus told St Lucia Times on Friday that it was aimed at strengthening the institution for long-term viability.

“Once people hear about the appointment of an administrator, they look at what has happened with other entities in the past and presume it is the same thing here, but it is not,” he said. “If you look at the Banking Act, it indicates the basis upon which anyone can be appointed by the Central Bank to look into things that they think are important and help – in this instance, in particular, the strengthening of the institution for its future viability.”

Theophilus said FICS is collaborating with the ECCB to achieve specific goals over an initial six-month period.

“It actually helps to consolidate the position that customers in fact have,” he stressed.

In its statement announcing Streete’s appointment, the ECCB said FICS will continue its operations in Saint Lucia as usual.

“FICS remains open to serve its customers and the wider public. It continues to hold a licence to carry on banking business in Saint Lucia, and remains under the regulatory oversight of the ECCB,” it stated.

It added that Streete would work with FICS’ staff, with support from the ECCB, “to ensure that the institution is managed in a manner that best protects the interest of depositors”.

Theophilus acknowledged the importance of compliance with regulators in matters such as these.

“They tell you there are certain things they would like to see; you may not always agree, but they are, in fact, your regulators, so you need to comply. The fact is, when you have regulators these are the standards that they set. So, if they determine that these are standards that are necessary in order to move the institution forward whilst you’re regulated by them, you have to adhere,” the FICS chairman told St Lucia Times.