2017 - A Look Back: Part One

During 2017, the Central Bank of Barbados was involved in numerous activities and initiatives, many economic in focus and others related to its public education, support for the arts and domestic outreach. This article, the first of a four part series, takes a look back at some of the Central Bank’s major happenings in the first quarter of the year.

Fish and Dragon Festival

In early February, the Central Bank of Barbados, in conjunction with the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China, celebrated the Chinese New Year by hosting its annual Fish and Dragon Festival. The 2017 edition featured the Hunan Provincial Art Theatre, a Chinese acrobatics troupe, as well as a number of local acts.

The Fish and Dragon Festival, now in its third year, celebrates Barbados-China relations, which were established in 1977.

Cleviston Haynes Named Acting Governor

In late February, Cleviston Haynes was named Acting Governor of the Central Bank of Barbados after Dr. DeLisle Worrell’s, who had served as Governor since 2009, contract was terminated.

Haynes, who until then was one of the organisation’s two Deputy Governors, is a lifelong Central Banker. He joined the Bank in 1980 as an Economist, and over the next three and a half decades held numerous posts, including Chief Economist, Advisor to the Governor, and Director of the organisation’s Bank Supervision Department.

4th Distinguished Visiting Fellow

The Bank continued its Distinguished Visiting Fellow programme by inviting former Central Bank of Ireland Governor, Dr. Patrick Honohan to be in residence.

During his three-week stint at the Bank, Honohan, who oversaw Ireland’s recovery from a major fiscal crisis, sat down for a one-on-one interview with Acting Governor Haynes, gave a presentations on recovering from financial crises and other topics of interest, and was the special guest at the 4th Caribbean Economic Forum.