THE CARIBBEAN'S NEW OVERTURES TO AFRICA WILL INCREASE RISK LEVELS AT U.S. BANKS THAT MAINTAIN CORRESPONDENT RELATIONSHIPS

   

Still smarting from from what they regard as hostile treatment from the US and EU on CBI, the Eastern Caribbean states appear to be now focusing their attention upon Africa, which is disturbing to compliance officers at the few remaining U.S. banks that still have correspondent relationships the region. A recent state visit to Saint Lucia by an African leader sanctioned by America for suspected drug trafficking, and the influence of a Nigerian airline owner, indicted in the U.S., in Antigua and elsewhere in the region, all indicate a Caribbean shift toward doing business with African players that could implicate American banks moving money to the Caribbean in money laundering or other serious criminal activities.

Is the Caribbean, now potentially facing a significant loss in revenue when previously-lucrative CBI investments lose their attractiveness through the inability of Caribbean passports to enter the EU and UK visa-free, seeking new sources of income? Lord knows they need it; most, like Antigua, have painful multi-million dollar debt service to cover each year, due to major past-due loans with accelerated interest rates, because of non-payment. Remember, the Eastern Caribbean states all need funds to pay their bloated government payrolls, and corrupt Africa leaders might just be their ticket to solvency, at least on a temporary basis.

Therefore, if I have the professional misfortune to be a compliance officer at a major American bank with correspondent accounts for indigenous Caribbean financial institutions, I now fear the distinct possibility that suspect finds from across the Pond in Africa will soon be headed to my bank, destined for those correspondent accounts, and that our management will allow it to enter and transit, notwithstanding my concerns. Do I start sending out my resume now, I wonder?