FICS Reassures Customers After ECCB Puts Administrator to Oversee Operations

Financial Investment and Consultancy Services Limited (FICS) has assured customers of its stability following the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank’s (ECCB) decision to appoint an official administrator for the company. Niguel Streete has been appointed the official administrator for Financial Investment and Consultancy Services Limited. On January 6, the ECCB announced that Niguel Streete, a senior finance professional with over 30 years of regulatory experience across the Caribbean, would oversee FICS’ management and operations. While the ECCB did not specify the reasons for the appointment, it stated the move was in line with its powers under Part IX, Section 114 of the Banking Act, 2015. That portion of the legislation outlines several reasons for the appointment of an administrator. Though not saying what triggered the move, FICS Chairman Lorne Theophilus told St Lucia Times on Friday that it was aimed at strengthening the institution for long-term viability. “Once people hear about the appointment of an administrator, they look at what has happened with other entities in the past and presume it is the same thing here, but it is not,” he said. “If you look at the Banking Act, it indicates the basis upon which anyone can be appointed by the...