By Ken Richards From West Indies News Network

St. Kitts and Nevis (WINN):  The former Chairman of one of the two indigenous banks in Anguilla taken over by the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank has confirmed that he is looking at the possibility of taking legal action against the ECCB.

Leslie Richardson was chairman of the Caribbean Commercial Bank Anguilla Limited (CCB) from April until the takeover two weeks ago.

He told WINN FM Monday that the bank’s 64 shareholders were being contacted to see whether they would support going to court on that matter.

The Basseterre-based Central Bank assumed control of the CCB and the National Bank of Anguilla on August 12, citing its authority under the ECCB Agreement Act 1983 to do so.

Chief Minister Hubert Hughes in welcoming the development, said he had been concerned about poor management at the country’s two indigenous banks for some time.

However former chairman Richardson says the Caribbean Commercial Bank was unfairly targeted and insists that there were political overtones in that specific takeover.

“There was nothing on our books that would warrant such high-handed action by Central Bank,” Richardson told WINN FM.

He indicated that recommendations that had been made to CCB were being implemented, adding that he did not see the need for intervention in Caribbean Commercial Bank.

“We were applauded just last year by Central Bank, by Sir Dwight Venner himself … for the good job that we’ve been doing,” the former bank chairman said.

“Is it that CCB was doing that badly,” Richardson queried while wondering whether the takeover had to do with a “planned amalgamation” of all the indigenous banks in the OECS sub-region.

Former Chairman Richardson says the shareholders are looking at what options they have in relation to taking back control of the Caribbean Commercial Bank.

The Central Bank said in a statement on Friday that the CCB and the National Bank of Anguilla continued to conduct normal banking operations throughout the two-week period following the August 12 takeover.

The ECCB said it was, along with experts from the IMF and the World Bank, continuing to work to stabilize, strengthen and restructure Anguilla’s two indigenous banks.

PHOTO: Commercial Bank Anguilla Limited

Former CCB Chairman Leslie Richardson

For more on this story go to:

http://www.winnfm.com/news/local/5382-banks-takeover-could-reach-the-courts