Prime Minister Mia Mottley gave testimony on Wednesday before the Financial Services Committee of the United States House of Representatives on de-risking in the Caribbean banking sector.
Mottley said the over-regulation of the Caribbean’s banking sector was putting the region’s businesses and economies in jeopardy and threatened the livelihoods of people.
In a historic address, she highlighted the unfair banking policies being instituted by the United States that she indicated were creating a crisis in the Caribbean’s banking sector.
Testifying before the committee on the topic: “When Banks Leave: The Impact of De-Risking on the Caribbean and Strategies for Ensuring Financial Access”, the prime minister criticised the heavy hammer of regulation and blacklisting that appeared to be brought down on black-run states and former colonies, placing them at risk of having their banking sector shut down, and their economic development derailed.
She argued on the other hand, a blind eye was being turned on money laundering and such questionable financial activity in Europe and other developed countries.