NASSAU, Bahamas, Weds. Feb. 25, 2009: Since December 2008 your Bahamas Press warned that a major insurance was having serious financial problems. The WUTLESS MEDIA SAID NOT A WORD. Now policyholders know what Bahamas Press has known and wrote for months. The Bahamian Supreme Court on Tuesday granted a request from the islands government to liquidate Clico Bahamas Ltd.
The country’s finance ministry said the move was necessary to protect shareholders of the company. Craig Gomez of Baker Tilley Gomez was appointed as the liquidator of the company.
“This action was precipitated at this time because of the continuing decline in the market value of the real estate investment in the United States via CLICO Bahamas Limited subsidiaries, CLICO Enterprises Limited and Wellington Preserve Limited, the uncertain financial position of its ultimate parent C L Financial Limited of Trinidad and Tobago, the inability of the company to pay claims/surrenders of policies in one of the jurisdictions where it operates and the lack of a credible plan by the company to address the shortfall in capital and liquidity in a reasonable time. It was felt that to delay taking action would only further erode the assets of the company to the detriment of policyholders,” a statement from the Office of the Registrar of Insurance Companies said.
CLICO Bahamas Limited (formerly British Fidelity Assurance Limited), a subsidiary of CLICO (Holdings) Barbados Limited and a subsidiary of the C L Financial group, operated in the Bahamas as a part of the C L Financial group since 1992. However, the company operated for many years prior to 1992 as British Fidelity Assurance Limited under different owners. The company has active operations in the Bahamas, Belize and the Turks & Caicos Islands.
In addition to these locations, the company has run-off business in the US Virgin Islands, Cayman and Barbados. The company has just over 29,000 policyholders, over 170 staff and over 100 million dollars in policy liabilities. The majority of the policyholders, policy liabilities and staff are in the Bahamas. The company’s advances to its real estate subsidiary CLICO Enterprises Limited, based on unaudited accounts, expanded from 57 million dollars at the end of 2007 to 72 million dollars at the end of 2008.
Now BP , what’s your take on the City Markets (Bahamas Supermarkets)
fiasco? This is affecting 1500 minority share holders. “No dividends are being paid, the shares do not trade, and any estimate of fair value is impossible without financial statements.” Many of these shareholders bought into shares of City Market as part of a possible private pension plan. At one time they paid a fair didvidend. Once again we have a managing shareholder N&M (a Trinidad/ Barbados conglomerate ) in the mix. Our Securities Commission needs to get on the ball here and adopt regulations that will guarentee the rights of the small shareholder.
Some companies just to big to allow them to fail – Well thats whats the trinis say about CL Financial the Clico parent in Trinidad –
But hey Clico is not a big player in The Bahamas but if you see Colina was to fail that would be CRISIS and Collapse – BTW no would would hear you scream from your house – We would be to busy making some of them mud cookies outta sand @Kim Sands
Well Muddo! Thomas Finley finally got on the bandwagon and all it took was the FNM to be once again caught with their pants around their ankles and the media as usual, looking through Perry’s window while the real news is going unreported.
Now my love letter to BP…LMAO….:P
BP, you know me and you is keep it real and I have no problems raising cane with you but sometimes, you can’t argue with reality. The media here has an air of entitlement and they act as if they are always the smartest people in the world when they are not. I have been around enough of them to know that an operation like this one is making them blue mad. They are glued to BP and every move you make makes them angry because you are supposed to be the small time amateurs. I gave up counting how many times BP scoops them, even when somethings are not 100% accurate.
Don’t get mad BP, nobody is 100% but at least you do a better job of coming close to the mark. I hope those advertisements on this site aren’t really free for real because you should be able to operate freely and make money for your efforts. I would be the first to fight for that right and I hope that one day, BP won’t have to be in the shadows and can take its place as a legit part of the media or better yet, replace the dinosaurs.
And y’all like to complain about BTC!
$27,000 phone bill after watching Bears game on web
By Chris Chase
On November 2, Wayne Burdick (not pictured) was aboard a cruise ship in Miami waiting to depart on a Caribbean cruise. While still docked at the port, he set up his laptop and wireless card and accessed his Slingbox device which allowed him to watch a Chicago Bears game via an Internet connection. When the game was over, Burdick closed his computer, embarked on the cruise and returned home to find a bill from AT&T charging him over $27,000 for the three hours of Internet usage.
Apparently, AT&T had charged Brudick the international rate for the access. At two cents per kilobyte, the total charge was $27,788.93 for the time spent watching the game, which breaks down to about $6,500 per Rex Grossman interception.
Burdick pled his case to AT&T, saying he was still at the port and not in roaming territory. After speaking with nearly a half-dozen people at the company, he managed to get the bill down to $6,000, even though he provided documentation that he was still technically in Miami at the time he used his wireless card.
Eventually, the whole matter was settled after Burdick contacted Team Fixer at the Chicago Sun-Times and they contacted the phone company. AT&T acknowledged its mistake, saying that Burdick’s device was picking up a signal it shouldn’t have been.
At least Burdick’s efforts were worth it. The Bears beat the Lions that afternoon, 27-23.
£650,000 pension for former RBS chief Sir Fred Goodwin
Sir Fred Goodwin after the Royal Bank of Scotland AGM in Edinburgh
(Danny Lawson)
Susan Thompson
Sir Fred Goodwin, the former chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland who was widely blamed for the bank’s demise, has begun drawing a pension of £650,000 a year, at the age of 50, prompting a Treasury investigation.
The pot from which Sir Fred draws his pension is worth £16 million.
UK Financial Investments (UKFI), the government body created to oversee its stakes in the banks, said it was “vigorously pursuing with the new [RBS] chairman whether there is any scope for clawing back some or all of this pension entitlement, and whether the board took the decision in the full knowledge of the facts.
“This is another example of the culture of rewards for failure that we are determined to sweep away for the future,” UKFI said in a statement.
Related Links
* Financial risk-taking might all be in the genes
* ‘Reckless’ RBS blew £200m on top sports stars
* I’m a Celebrity… help me get through this: Sir Fred Goodwin seeks coaching
Mr Goodwin apologised for their role in the crisis before a Treasury Select Committee meeting earlier this month. When asked by the Committee about his pension, Sir Fred said: “My pension is the same as everyone else in the bank who is in a defined benefit pension scheme. It is determined in the same way as anyone else.”
In a statement RBS said: “The company is taking further legal advice in respect of certain aspects of Sir Fred Goodwin’s contractual arrangements and continues to discuss the position with UKFI.”
Sir Fred stepped down as chief executive in November.
RBS is expected to report the biggest loss in UK banking history tomorrow. The bank announced yesterday that it was ending its sponsorship of the Williams Formula One team as part of a move to cut funding of British sport by 50 per cent by 2010. The bank has been part-nationalised by the government, with the British taxpayers’ shareholding increasing to some 70 per cent.
CLICO UPDATE:
CLICO (Bahamas) ordered liquidated
By Stabroek staff | February 26, 2009 in Local News
-held 51% of CLICO (Guyana’s) assets at end of 2007
CLICO (Bahamas) Ltd was on Tuesday ordered liquidated raising serious concerns here as the company held 51% of CLICO (Guyana’s) assets at the end of 2007 and sources last night said the government could move to the courts as early as today to protect the interests of local clients.
It is unclear what the figure held by CLICO (Bahamas) was at the end of December, 2008 as accounts for that year are not yet available and CLICO (Guyana) has not volunteered any details. Importantly, CLICO (Guyana) holds $6B for the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) and that would be one of the major concerns of the authorities here.
The liquidation in Nassau was the latest tremor to shake the C L Financial Group and its subsidiaries since the Trinidad Government mounted a surprise bailout on January 30, 2009 of four of the Port-of-Spain-based group’s financial institutions after they encountered liquidity problems.
Dr Roger Luncheon
Dr Roger Luncheon
According to a release from the Office of the Registrar of Insurance Companies in the Bahamas posted on The Eleutheran, a wind-up order was granted on Tuesday by the Bahamas Supreme Court appointing Craig Gomez of Baker Tilley Gomez as the liquidator for CLICO (Bahamas). The order had been applied for by the Bahamas Minister of Finance, who is the Prime Minister, Hubert Ingraham, under the Insurance Act and had been taken to protect policyholders of CLICO (Bahamas).
“This position was taken only after very careful consideration of the interest of the policyholders, staff and creditors of the company in the Bahamas and in the region and only after discussions with the principals of the company over many months urging and directing them to inject additional capital and liquidity into the company but to no avail”, the release said.
It stated that the action was necessitated by a number of factors including the continuing decline in the market value of real estate investments in the United States through CLICO (Bahamas) subsidiaries: CLICO Enterprises Limited and Wellington Preserve Limited. The release also pointed to “the uncertain financial position” of the Lawrence Duprey-led parent company C L Financial, its inability to pay claims and surrenders of policies in one of its jurisdictions (Trinidad –where CLICO (Trinidad) has a TT$10B debt) and the “lack of a credible plan by the company to address the shortfall in capital and liquidity in a reasonable time.” Under these circumstances, the release said that it was felt that to delay taking action would only further erode the assets of the company to the detriment of policyholders.
Christopher Ram
Christopher Ram
The release noted that CLICO (Bahamas) has just over 29,000 policyholders, over 170 staffers and over US$100M in policy liabilities. Its advances to its real estate subsidiary CLICO Enterprises Limited – based on unaudited accounts – grew from US$57M at the end of 2007 to US$72M at the end of last year.
“We would like to assure the Bahamian public that the financial difficulties of CLICO Bahamas are in no way a reflection of the entire dynamic and robust local Bahamian insurance industry.
“The domestic insurance industry, at the end of 2007, had 52 local companies and branches of foreign companies, over US$1.2 billion in assets and total gross premiums of $701 million. CLICO Bahamas represented less than 1% of the total assets and less than 1% of the total gross premiums. The financial difficulties of CLICO Bahamas are a direct result of the company’s business model and investment policies.
“We would like to encourage the liquidators to move with all speed in communicating practical guidance to policyholders and other creditors who have claims against the company so as to minimize any uncertainty. Policyholders should consult with their financial advisors on the actions they should now take.
“Persons having any questions or queries may contact the Registrar of Insurance Companies at 3rd Floor, Charlotte House, West Bay Street”, the release added.
Since the C L Financial crisis erupted in January there have been calls here for the Guyana Government and the regulator – the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI) – to be proactive in ascertaining the extent of the related-party transactions between CLICO (Guyana) and its parent company and subsidiaries and to report this to the public. There has been very little said by the Ministry of Finance, OCI or CLICO (Guyana). It is unclear whether the OCI here will have to take any action in light of the liquidation order in The Bahamas
In a terse statement issued on January 30, 2009 after the news out of Port-of-Spain roiled the business sector here, Clico Guyana said it “wishes to make it clear that developments in Port of Spain, Trinidad involving CL Financial Limited have no financial impact on CLlCO Guyana. CLlCO Guyana is a separate entity within the CL Financial Group, and none of its assets are intertwined with CLlCO [TRINIDAD] or CLlCO lnvestment Bank.
“The facts are that CLlCO lnvestment Bank (CIB) has been sold to Trinidad and Tobago’s First Citizens Bank Limited, and the Government of Trinidad and Tobago will provide the liquidity to support any strain on the insurance company, CLlCO Trinidad backed by assets of CL Financial Limited.
“CLlCO Guyana remains solid with a statutory fund that is in good standing,” the CEO Geeta Singh-Knight said.
In another press release last week CLICO said “CLICO (Guyana) is a separate entity. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of CL Financial. We wish to assure our policyholders that your annuities and pensions and other insurance policies are protected and as previously published, our statutory fund remains in good standing with an adequate solvency margin, which indicates a surplus in the fund”.
It said that the investment portfolio comprises short-term and long-term investments which continue to return favourable profits.
It added “As an insurance company, we are obligated by law, through the Insurance Act, to conduct an actuarial valuation which assesses the company’s liability to its policyholders. Based on the result of the valuation, the company must prove that there are sufficient assets to meet its obligation to its policyholders. These assets, some of which must be liquid, are placed in a Trust and cannot be accessed by CLICO, unless it is approved by the Commissioner of Insurance”.
The statement added that the company will continue to ensure that all policyholders, stakeholders and the general public are kept apprised of “all developments”.
Assured
At a press conference on February 20, Head of the Presidential Secretariat and Chairman of the NIS Board, Dr Roger Luncheon had said that that close to $6B of the Scheme’s funds were invested in CLICO (Guyana) which the local company had assured was safe. However, he said that revelations in Trinidad at C L Financial have “provided some idea even if preliminary of how exposed CLICO (Guyana) is to what is happening over there”. The NIS investment with CLICO (Guyana) amounts to 17% of the NIS’s holdings.
The Guyana Government on February 5th had said that it is monitoring the operations of CLICO (Guyana) “closely” in the wake of the liquidity problems at its Trinidad-based parent company CL Financial Limited.
“We are looking at it closely,” President Bharrat Jagdeo told reporters at a news conference at State House.
“We want to ensure that people here, their interests are protected so we are watching this closely,” Jagdeo declared. The President said he looked at CLICO (Guyana’s) liquidity position as well as its assets and liabilities. He noted that CLICO (Guyana) makes up just three percent of the country’s total financial assets.
He explained that the company holds its assets while a significant amount of its liabilities are long-term and even if people make a run on it, it would not face a problem of not having enough assets to match the liquidity. “But you may have a situation of cash flow liquidity problems,” he said, adding this would be the problem faced by any major bank in any part of the world in a similar situation.
Jagdeo added that the only problem he could envisage in the short term is a mismatch between liabilities and assets in the event of significant changes of the company’s investments abroad. “But we are paying close attention to the issue,” he said, adding that the government would continue to monitor the developments.
With the winding up in the Bahamas, depositors and creditors will have to stake their various claims and it may be some time before liquidators will be able to establish the true financial position of CLICO (Bahamas) and to make payouts.
In his Business Page (BP) column on February 8 in the Sunday Stabroek, columnist Christopher Ram had pointed to the large investment by CLICO (Guyana) in the Bahamas subsidiary. He had noted that 80% of CLICO (Guyana’s) assets were in three related entities: $1.5B or 13% in Caribbean Resources Limited (CRL), $6B or 51% in CLICO (Bahamas) and $1.8B or 16% in the Berbice Bridge Company Inc.
He pointed out that CLICO (Guyana’s) financial statements describe the investments in CLICO (Bahamas) as fixed deposits which was misleading since it suggested a banking-type deposit when in fact they are described by the Bahamas company as annuities under the heading Future Policy Benefit Reserves.
Emphasis of Matter
Ram noted that the auditor’s report on CLICO (Bahamas) had an Emphasis of Matter which adverted to the fact that 59% of the company’s assets were placed in a related company, CLICO Enterprises. The audited financial statements did not show a specific amount due to CLICO (Guyana) but annuities in the amount of US$70M of which 42% would be ascribed to Guyana.
Ram had concluded “What is now very important is for the Minister of Finance, the government and the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance to ask the right questions and to get hard information from the company… It is not enough to downplay the impact of any potential difficulties and we should not forget that the NIS up to December 31, 2005 (the last date for which financial statements have been released) was heavily invested (to the tune of $7.7B) in the company.”
He said further: “ It is also clear that the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance simply does not have the resources, the authority or apparently the will to deal with issues like these. The local authorities should act quickly by first obtaining and analysing the relevant information and having further discussions and agreement with the company, and then following this by a visit to Trinidad and The Bahamas to meet with the relevant persons. Delay only drags the situation out, which is not good for either the company or the economy.”
It had been noted in BP that the CRL investment is guaranteed by the troubled C L Financial Group but even this may not be as straightforward. On Tuesday, according to Newsday of Trinidad, the Trinidad Central Bank and Colonial Life Insurance Company Limited (which was taken over by Trinidad) on Monday secured a restraining order against cash strapped CL Financial, barring the company from conducting any local or international business with its assets.
High Court Judge Gregory Delzin, according to Newsday, prevented CL Financial from dealing with, selling, pledging, assigning, mortgaging, charging, disposing, transferring, divesting, diminishing the value of all or any of the assets, howsoever held by or to the use of, and or vested in the defendant, wheresoever located, and howsoever described.
The restraining order was granted following an urgent ex-parte application brought by attorneys for the Trinidad Central Bank.
CLICO (Guyana’s) 2007 accounts had its long-term fund showing a balance of $231M at 2007 while its short-term fund was $82M in the red. Total income slid from $296M in 2006 to $190M in 2007 and significantly, while taxation in 2006 was $126M in 2007 it was $9.7M. There was no explanation of this.
According to its balance sheet, its current assets in 2007 totalled $1.14B including $127.9M in cash at the bank and a $11.2M overdraft while its current liabilities totalled $1.64B – a difference of around $500M. There was also a gap between current assets and liabilities in 2006 but not of that magnitude.
Cash advances
While both Clico (Guyana) and CL Financial has said there is no risk to the Guyana operations there are several related party transactions that could pose issues. The major one is $1.18B in cash advances from Clico (Trinidad) to Clico (Guyana). These advances are repayable within a year.
It is unclear how much of this amount might have been repaid during 2008 though some of it is offset by an advance to Clico (Trinidad). Clico (Guyana) – a 20% shareholder in the Berbice Bridge Company. With the Government of Trinidad taking an equity stake in Clico (Trinidad) to improve its liquidity there could potentially be a call on Clico (Guyana) to clear the outstanding balance.
Clico (Guyana) also had due to it in 2007 $184M from various subsidiaries of CL Financial including Clico (Suriname) Limited, Clico Trust and Finance NV of Guyana, Caribbean Resources Limited – Guyana and Premium Security Service Limited.
The notes to the accounts also revealed that Clico (Guyana) invested $1.5B in Caribbean Resources Limited (CRL) in 2007, an investment guaranteed by C L Financial Limited. There are no fixed repayment terms. A loan was also granted in 2007 to CRL of $447M at a rate of interest of 12% per annum. There was also the $6B investment in Clico (Bahamas). An amount of $29M invested in Star Lumber – a part of the group – had to be written off in 2007 as the company closed its operations in the year.
Prior to the Trinidad turmoil, Clico (Guyana) was also in the news when it was revealed that the estate of slain businessman Farouk Kalamadeen had lodged a claim on a $200M policy. Clico (Guyana) has refused the claim and has since gone to court over it.
In their report, auditors Deloitte & Touche said that Clico (Guyana) did not comply fully with the requirements of the Insurance Act 1998 as Section 55 of the Act requires that 85% of the company’s statutory fund be invested locally.
According to the Commissioner of Insurance’s Annual Report for 2007, the amounts deposited by Clico Guyana for the purpose of meeting the statutory deposit requirements were as follows: $18,750,000 for long-term insurance and $27,720,927 for general insurance for a total of $46, 470, 927. The audited figure for 2006 was $44,544,091.
BP please continue to watch Colinaimperial closely, so I could know when to move my money. I can not rely on ZNS and the other wutless media, when they decide to tell you anything, it is always too late. If Manny them were to close down with my money in their hands, the whole Bahamas would be able to hear me screaming from my house…..lol….
Right now, BP is the only media in the country that seem to be looking out for the interest of the Bahamian people. I was just watching ZNS news and I saw some customers of Clico on TV and they seem so out off it, this latest development about Clico has certainly caught clients by surprise. If they were keeping up with Bahamas Press they would have had some type of warning. Even talk show host Steve McKenzie who is normally in the know, seem to be caught of guard by the news. I too almost fell into the trap. It was about three weeks ago, when I had sit down in one of Clico offices with a new agent and his manager, who was telling me how well the company was doing and how cheap their rates are when compare with other companies. I must admit, I was really impressed with their proposal, especially when I had compared it to the other proposals I had received from several insurance companies. They were offering so many benefits for such a small premium and not to mention the sales pitch that manager throw on me. I was very anxious to take out this policy, until BP update us about what was going on in the region with the company. I trust BP and I know if BP says all is not well with that institution, there is no way they would get me to sign the bottom line.
BP please assist me with a matter. My daughter is employed by government and as you know today is payday. Please put some pressure on so that the Public Treasury refund the present (February) deductions back to the policy holders that is due by the 15th March. If the company closes today then they should not be paid any additonal funds from policy holders. Salary deductions are made before payday but not forwarded to companies until the 15th of the following month.
Many thanks
The Registrar Of Insurance and some top officials at the Central Bank should all be intensively questioned.It is reported that Clico Bahamas funds were being raided by its parent company in Trinidad.My prediction is that the liquidator will find very little cash or assets in the Bahamas to refund to the Bahamian’s policy holders.
God help us all the country NO the world is falling apart.These are some serious time and the last days.
I agree with you Media that our Press is lousy and wutless. There used to be a Caribbean News section in the Journal, but the two leading dailies need to do more to inform readers about what is going on.They are a disgrace. There are Bahamians with Policies with Clico who have no idea that that Company is/was in trouble. The Media have failed as a watchdog and an advocate, save when it comes to their own personal interests and those of their friends, family, and in one case, their RACE. There, I said it.
BP your right, the FNM in tandem with the Tribune, do nothing but deflect, distract, and throw smoke screens so as to void the real issues.
The media in this country is so bad its depressing.
BP, i am so mad at the PLP right now. Where are they? Why are they so silent? They need to get over their pity party and start doing something.
Dont get mad at Connie, i think she is new here.
Well said editor. Deflection, deflection , deflection. Plp news all day,
every day.
Connie, what do you mean when you say, “if this STORY IS TRUE..? You’ll think Bahamas Press is DOLLY HOUSE ECH? What do you mean if this is true? We’ve have been warning of this pending collapse of a MAJOR INSURANCE company from the early part of December! We did not say CLICO until last week Sunday.
I mean what was shocking to us was the fact that one station decided to finally report it on their last evening new, only after the Supreme Court stepped in and appointed a liquidator. I mean the company was running Christmas ads on ZNS TV and Radio news, whilst the parent could not supply funding to the Bahamas office. Now you know why the MUGABE WUTLESS PRESS cannot report news. They fail to report real news affecting Bahamians and they cannot BREAK NEWS anymore. THEY’re WUTLESS WE TELL YA!
What world are you all living in Connie? There has been major fallout of the company across the region. For weeks now it has been reported in the Express, the Trinidad Guardian and The Jamaican Gleaner.
ONLY IN THIS MUGABE STRICKEN SOCIETY, where members of the Wutless Media talk about the PLP day and night hiding the news. Day and night they report failed stimulus packages where nothing is being done. And they don’t want to talk about these real news affecting 29,000 policyholders and 170 workers.
Then you have Ingraham on the next end, busy with his “BIG HEAD” talking about mid-term budget only four months before the national budget is due. DEFLECTION, DEFLECTION, DEFLECTION! We could expect to smell HOT AIR from Ingraham beginning TONIGHT for the next two weeks, whilst people struggling. THANKS TO THE WUTLESS MEDIA IN THIS COUNTRY! We bought 15 gas masks last week!
They building road when people can’t buy food and losing their JOBS! DAS A STIMULUS FOR YA ECH?
Bahamas Press/Editor
For God sake, I hope the government does not allow Colinaimperial the opportunity to acquire Clico. I could see Manny and the board of directors of Colinaimperial getting ready now to devour this collapsing company without hesitation. They are already the largest insurance company in the Bahamas and they are failing to provide quality customer service now to their existent clients. If they are allowed to buy out this company they will only add more miserable customers to the ones they already inherit. They have yet to iron out all the wrinkles with all the previous companies they have acquired and at the moment they believe they are untouchable because of their size. The insurance market in the Bahamas needs to have a level playing field; other company like British American should be given favorable consideration to obtain this company. It will make the market more balance, competitive and premium rates should be cheaper.
BP if this story is true it is a shame. Bahamians are living in the dark about what is happening in the country and that is no way to live and be able to plan for the future. The government of the Bahamas and the press have to begin to be HONEST with the people about the state of our economy, crime, etc. If does not help the country to live under false pretenses. There is nothing wrong with bare naked honesty when it come to things of national importance and we need to begin to face the problems that plague instead of sweeping them under the rug for another day, the only hurts in the long run.
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