AID BANK HOLDS ITS 17TH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
The Dominica Agricultural Industrial and Development Bank held its 17th Annual General Meeting at the Fort Young Hotel on Monday 22nd February, 2010. The meeting was attended by a number of Honourable Ministers of Government, including the Acting Prime Minister, Mr. Reginald Austrie; the Board of Directors, Management and Staff of the Bank.
In his address to the meeting, Mr. Austrie recognized the impact of the global challenges on financial institutions and commended the Bank for its significant achievements and initiatives for the financial year 2009 which included:
- an increase in net profit by 48.7% over that which was achieved the previous year;
- a return on assets of .93% in comparison to .63% last year;
- the reduction in non-performing loans from 20.0% to 18.7% for the same period and most notably,
- the finalization of the strategic and operational plan geared towards making the Bank more meaningful and relevant to the needs of the citizens of Dominica.
The Acting Prime Minister highlighted the continued support of the Government to the Bank, through the recent approval for the guarantee of Lines of Credit from the Caribbean Development Bank and the BANDES Bank of Venezuela, which will facilitate the Bank in providing affordable financing to various sectors of the economy.
The Chairman of the AID Bank, Mr. Ambrose M.J. Sylvester also addressed the meeting. He spoke of the engagement of the General Manager, who with over 20 years experience in development banking, was mandated to facilitate the repositioning of the Bank to take a proactive and leadership role in the social and economic development of the Commonwealth of Dominica, through measures such as the mobilization of funds, the re-structuring of the Bank and the reduction in the level of non-performing loans. Mr. Sylvester also reported that the Bank has already identified a pipeline of infrastructural, tourism based, social sector loans and SME’s amounting to over $25mn.
The AGM was also attended by the representatives of the Bank’s shareholders, the Government of Dominica and the Dominica Social Security (DSS), in the persons of Mrs. Rosemund Edwards, Financial Secretary and Mr. Augustus Etienne, Deputy Director of DSS, the Ambassadors to the People’s Republic of China and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
Other Special invitees included the President - National Workers Union, the General Manager – RCCU, representatives of the National Bank of Dominica, the Chairman - Invest Dominica Authority, the Chief Executive Officers of the Invest Dominica Authority and the Discover Dominica Authority, the Manager of Dominica Water and Sewerage Company (DOWASCO) and representatives of Pricewaterhouse Coopers, the Bank’s Auditors. A number of the Bank’s customers also attended the event which was carried live on DBS Radio and covered by the other media houses.
In his address to the meeting, Mr. Austrie recognized the impact of the global challenges on financial institutions and commended the Bank for its significant achievements and initiatives for the financial year 2009 which included:
- an increase in net profit by 48.7% over that which was achieved the previous year;
- a return on assets of .93% in comparison to .63% last year;
- the reduction in non-performing loans from 20.0% to 18.7% for the same period and most notably,
- the finalization of the strategic and operational plan geared towards making the Bank more meaningful and relevant to the needs of the citizens of Dominica.
The Acting Prime Minister highlighted the continued support of the Government to the Bank, through the recent approval for the guarantee of Lines of Credit from the Caribbean Development Bank and the BANDES Bank of Venezuela, which will facilitate the Bank in providing affordable financing to various sectors of the economy.
The Chairman of the AID Bank, Mr. Ambrose M.J. Sylvester also addressed the meeting. He spoke of the engagement of the General Manager, who with over 20 years experience in development banking, was mandated to facilitate the repositioning of the Bank to take a proactive and leadership role in the social and economic development of the Commonwealth of Dominica, through measures such as the mobilization of funds, the re-structuring of the Bank and the reduction in the level of non-performing loans. Mr. Sylvester also reported that the Bank has already identified a pipeline of infrastructural, tourism based, social sector loans and SME’s amounting to over $25mn.
The AGM was also attended by the representatives of the Bank’s shareholders, the Government of Dominica and the Dominica Social Security (DSS), in the persons of Mrs. Rosemund Edwards, Financial Secretary and Mr. Augustus Etienne, Deputy Director of DSS, the Ambassadors to the People’s Republic of China and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
Other Special invitees included the President - National Workers Union, the General Manager – RCCU, representatives of the National Bank of Dominica, the Chairman - Invest Dominica Authority, the Chief Executive Officers of the Invest Dominica Authority and the Discover Dominica Authority, the Manager of Dominica Water and Sewerage Company (DOWASCO) and representatives of Pricewaterhouse Coopers, the Bank’s Auditors. A number of the Bank’s customers also attended the event which was carried live on DBS Radio and covered by the other media houses.
