(Trinidad Express) Billions of dollars in non-performing loans, including an unsecured facility to a government ministry in Cuba, were on the books of CLICO Investment Bank (CIB) which led to the eventual insolvency of the company, Maria Daniel, a partner at Ernst and Young, stated yesterday.
The purpose of the US$2.6 million loan was for infrastructure and services upgrade of the government agency in Cuba, Ernst and Young’s statement of affairs stated.
The total arrears on the loan is US$14 million with the last and only payment being made on October 14, 2003.
The facility to the Cuban ministry was among the top ten major non-performing third party loans at CIB.
One billion dollars was written off from the Loans and Advances section in the statement of affairs of CIB because of bad debts, Daniel said.
Loans to for a mega mixed-use tourism development in St Lucia, a hotel development in Martinique and a bottling plant in Jamaica were also among the top ten non-performing third-party loans.
Several inter-company and related party loans were also among those deemed to be in arrears.
Senior Counsel Martin Daly said Stone Street Capital Ltd was not in arrears in the $78 million loan advanced to purchase seven million Home Mortgage shares.
Daly is the legal representative for Andre Monteil, the former group financial director at CL Financial.
Stone Street Capital is owned by Monteil.
“Disproportionate attention is being attracted to Monteil,” Daly said.
In 2008, Stone Street transferred the facility to First Capital Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Stone Street Capital.
First Capital was eventually sold to Dalco Capital Management Ltd which is owned by former CL Financial chairman Lawrence Duprey.
