By NICO SCAVELLA

Tribune Staff Reporter

nscavella@tribunemedia.net

FORMER Free National Movement Chairman Darron Cash yesterday called for a “full disclosure” of the Bank of the Bahamas’ “true state of affairs,” suggesting that the former Christie administration’s “systematic pattern of distortion and cover up” of the bank’s woes must come to an end.

Mr Cash, in a statement, called on the Minnis administration to let the “chips fall where they may” in disclosing the bank’s financial state of affairs, adding that the public needs to know the “whole truth” about the bank’s situation.

In particular, Mr Cash said the disclosure would serve as a “quick win” for first-time Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Peter Turnquest, along with the release of “all of the relevant internal analyses and reports” that former Prime Minister Perry Christie “received and refused to make public.”

Hours after Mr Cash’s statement was released, Mr Turnquest issued his own statement saying the government is committed to the institution’s success.

“The government of the Bahamas acknowledges that the Bank of The Bahamas is a systemically important financial institution and as such is fully committed to its success,” Mr Turnquest noted.

“The government further acknowledges the concerns of the various stakeholders with respect to the bank’s capital, liquidity and governance. In its role as the majority shareholder, the government is committed to working with the board, management and regulators in comprehensively addressing all of these issues and returning the Bank to sustained profitability,” Mr Turnquest added.

Meanwhile, Mr Cash’s statement followed the release of BOB’s financial results for the third quarter ended March 31, 2017. According to that report, the bank’s comprehensive losses were approximately $200,000 short of $11m.

In February, Tribune Business reported that BOB’s financial statements for the half-year to end-December 2016 showed that its total comprehensive loss had increased by almost $2m year-over-year, rising from $3.587m to $5.428m.

Recently, former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham questioned under what “lawful authority” did the former Christie administration use $50m of the “people’s money” to partially replenish BOB’s capital because of $100m worth of non-performing loans.

Earlier this month, Mr Ingraham demanded to know whether any members of the Christie administration are on the list of non-performing loans (at BOB) “to the tune of tens of millions.”

In his statement, however, Mr Cash said notwithstanding the government being the majority shareholder in BOB, the “new FNM government should not own the problems of the Christie administration.”

“For almost five years the Christie government misled Parliament, the general public and minority shareholders of BOB about the true state of affairs within BOB,” he noted.

“As of May 11, 2017, the systematic pattern of distortion and cover-up must come to an end. The public deserves to know the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth about BOB’s financial position.”

Mr Cash insisted that an “early, big and grave mistake” for the new FNM administration would be to “retreat to safety” by withholding information about BOB in an effort to “protect” or “prop up” the bank.

“Conversely, a very quick win for the new minister of finance would be to release all of the relevant internal analyses and reports that Mr Christie received and refused to make public…all while singing ‘it’s all right now,’” Mr Cash added. “We especially want the release of the famed Church report.

“ . . . The public is clamouring to know the truth. Release the information and let the chips fall where they may.

“Mr Christie, as (former) minister of finance and hider in chief may very well be vindicated when the truth comes out. If complete vindication is the end result, that would be great. But, the new government has a duty to let the Bahamian people make that determination,” Mr Cash said.

Earlier this month, Tribune Business reported how BOB is seeking Supreme Court protection from the Central Bank’s demands for an “immediate” $50m increase in loan loss provisions and legal action against “politically exposed” bad borrowers.

Legal documents obtained by Tribune Business revealed the extent of the stricken bank’s woes, with its problems so severe that its liquidity could deteriorate “quite literally on any day.”

Abhilash Bhachech, the Central Bank’s inspector of banks and trust companies, in two affidavits filed with the Supreme Court on May 2 and May 4, 2017, revealed that BOB had launched a Supreme Court appeal on April 7, 2017, against the Central Bank’s latest regulatory demands.

Explaining that these “supervisory mandates,” dated February 8, 2017, were issued for “sound prudential reasons,” Mr Bhachech alleged that they required BOB to “commence legal proceedings against its customers to realise on collateral from long-standing non-performing loans, specifically larger commercial exposures and exposures to politically exposed persons,” or ‘PEPs’.

PEPs are persons who hold, or have connections – such as family links – to officials or politicians holding public office. Mr Christie and his administration had repeatedly denied that loans to ‘politically exposed persons’ or PEPs were involved in BOB’s demise.