en
Co-funded by the European Union
Co-funded by the European Union
Location
Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Suriname, Antigua und Barbuda, The Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago
Topic
Access to Finance, Business Regulation and Policy
Beneficiary
Carribbean Export Development Agency (CEDA)
Status
Completed
Year
2022
Access to financing is one of the biggest challenges in the Caribbean region. Collected data show that difficulty in obtaining financing is a leading impediment to doing business in the region. Commercial banking loans are difficult to secure. Among all the challenges that create this situation is an inadequacy of credit reporting systems and the ineffectiveness of collateral and bankruptcy laws in facilitating lending. Reforming this particular area will go a long way to improve the access to finance thereby improving the business environment and investment climate.
The ICR Facility supported Caribbean Export Development Agency (CEDA) with technical assistance to improve the credit reporting in 15 CARIFORUM countries through a systems assessment and a public-private consultation session. The systems assessment aimed at informing policy-making and proposing national and regional recommendations for business environment reform.
The technical assistance supported the assessment and provision of recommendations on credit bureaus and collateral registries in the region. Within this framework, an in-depth review of the state of play of credit bureaus and collateral registries in the 15 CARIFORUM countries was conducted. The findings of the assessment were discussed in a regional online consultation to obtain additional input from the relevant stakeholders for a final comprehensive report. The recommendations and action plan haven taken into consideration the different contexts of each of these countries, but also show how these can be harmonized and consolidated at a regional level, thereby creating future opportunities for joint-actions or regional initiatives.
Technical analysis validated by representatives of 15 Caricom countries. A number of countries have used the report to define their credit infrastructure reform agendas.
