ST. JOHN’S, Antigua – The Antigua and Barbuda government has condemned what it described as “bureaucratic tactics” being employed by shareholders of the Eastern Caribbean Amalgamated Bank (ECAB) to block the conversion of the government’s 25 percent preference shares into ordinary equity shares.
“Cabinet strongly condemned these actions as intentional and obstructive, asserting that the bank’s shareholders are actively undermining the government’s rightful equity position,” according to a statement issued here following the weekly Cabinet meeting.
“This calculated resistance is viewed as a profit-hoarding maneuver designed to erode and dilute the government’s ownership stake over time,” the statement added.
Government’s spokesman, and Director General of Communications, Maurice Merchant, told reporters that the Cabinet wishes to have ordinary shares so that it can divest those shares to members of the public similarly to what it successfully did with the West Indies Oil Company shares.
Merchant said the government intends to use both political and legal means to achieve its goal of having its shares in ECAB converted without any further administrative or bureaucratic delays.
The statement issued by the Cabinet said that a “direct call” had been made to ECAB shareholders “to cease this obstruction immediately and to facilitate the rightful conversion without further delay. It made clear that continued resistance will not be tolerated”.
The statement said that once the conversion is executed, the government intends to divest a portion of its ordinary shares to the public, in line with its commitment to domestic economic empowerment and broader citizen ownership of national assets.
“Cabinet underscored that it will pursue all available political and legal avenues—without hesitation—to secure and protect the interests of the people of Antigua and Barbuda,” the statement added.
ECAB is currently one of the largest indigenous banks in Antigua and Barbuda, and the government has 25 percent preferential ownership, which gives it first claim on distribution of profits but restricts it to voting only on resolutions which directly affect its rights..
However, more than three years ago, the administration wrote to the board of directors asking to convert those shares to ordinary shares, which would allow the government to claim full voting rights in the decision-making process
Together with Antigua Commercial Bank Ltd (ACB), which owns 15 percent of ECAB, Antiguan and Barbudan shareholders will then account for 40 percent of shares and voting power in the institution thereby increasing domestic ownership.
