Banking
From The Report: Trinidad & Tobago 2015
View in Online Reader

The commercial banking sector is one of the many sources of stability in T&T’s economy. With eight long established banks, backed by major international groups or the government, T&T’s banking system is well capitalised, well regulated and conservative in its lending practices. According to the Central Bank of T&T, at the end of October 2014 the eight banks had total assets within the country of $20.2bn, with deposits and lending (except for mortgage loans) growing at single-digit rates. Though the system is awash with liquidity, efforts by the central bank to encourage a reduction in excess reserves have already had an impact in the first half of 2015. At the same time, downward pressure on net interest margins will continue to be an issue, with banks likely to remain focused on boosting fee income and/or controlling costs to maintain growth.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Trinidad and Tobago’s banks benefit from international backing and state support
OBG
plus

The commercial banking sector in Trinidad and Tobago is just one of the many sources of stability in the country’s economy and society. There are eight long-established banks in T&T, backed by major international groups or the government, some of which have a substantial presence outside the country. These eight banks had total assets within the country of TT$131bn ($20.2bn) at the end of October 2014, according to the Central Bank of T&T (CBTT). The banks are well capitalised, conservative…

Analysis

Trinidad and Tobago’s government-backed banks are focused on main policy objectives
OBG
plus

As indicated by the World Economic Forum’s “Global Competitiveness Report 2014-15”, Trinidad and Tobago has a number of attributes that are conducive to the development of financial services. Although the country was the 89th-most-competitive out of 144 assessed globally, T&T was ranked 38th for its macroeconomic environment, 52nd for infrastructure and financial market development, 69th for business sophistication and 77th for higher education and training. Strong Centre Accounting for…

Analysis

Incentives offered to multinationals to set up local service centres in Trinidad and Tobago
OBG
plus

In 2008 the government established the Trinidad and Tobago International Financial Centre (TTIFC) as a specialist agency to promote the development of the country as an international financial centre. Previously, this work had been undertaken by InvesTT, which promotes inward foreign direct investment across the economy. The strategies being pursued by the TTIFC include Financial Institutions Support Services (FINeSS), which seeks to provide special incentives for foreign financial institutions…