Remarks by
Hon. Bradly Felix,
Minister for Commerce,
Industry, Enterprise
Development and
Consumer Affairs
As Minister with responsibility
for Commerce and Enterprise
Development, it gives me great
pleasure to celebrate the expansion
of 1 st National Bank’s portfolio of
services. I am honoured to address
you today as the Bank introduces
its MSME Competency Unit which
will cater specifically to the needs
of Micro, Small and Medium
Enterprises (MSME).
We (Government and Ministry of
Commerce) are particularly proud
of the accomplishments of 1st
National Bank. As an indigenous
bank, 1 st National Bank has
developed over the years and been
recognised in the global arena for
its strategic efforts at diversifying
its portfolio to the citizens of Saint
Lucia.
In 2019, the bank received the
Bracken Bank of the Year Award
in London. This is the first bank
in the Eastern Caribbean to win
such a prestigious award for
performance, innovation, added
customer value and leadership in
society. That same year, 1 st National
Bank also captured Service
Excellence Award & Business of
the Year Award at the Chamber of
Commerce Business Awards.
provide approximately 90% of
jobs.
This bank exemplifies that it has
not just remained the traditional
Penny Bank where you put your
monies for safe-keeping, but it
has expanded to being a regional
leader in the banking sector. The
launch of the MSME Competency
Unit is testament to the bank’s
growth, innovation and leadership. Despite the critical role they play
in creating jobs and fostering
growth, most of them face
impediments such as access to
finance, lack of collateral as well as
cumbersome business regulations
and high interest rates that
inhibit their competitiveness. The
International Finance Corporation
(IFC) estimates that 65 million
firms, or 40% of formal MSMEs
in developing countries, have
an unmet financing need of
$5.2 trillion every year which is
equivalent to 1.4 times the current
level of the global MSME lending.
MSMEs are very dear to our
hearts in this country. They are a
catalyst in providing much-needed
employment and economic
activity. 76-80% of businesses in
Saint Lucia are MSMEs and they “Getting Credit” has been Saint
Lucia’s lowest score in the World
Bank’s “Ease of Doing Business”
Annual Report. Also, our 2018
Investment Climate Assessment
Survey revealed that from 2009 to