LINSTEAD, St. Catherine:
THE ANNUAL General Meeting of the St. Thomas-Ye-Vale PC Bank Bog Walk branch was held on Thursday, August 3, at the New Life Tabernacle in Bog Walk, St. Catherine.
Giving a brief report of the lending portfolio of the bank chairman, Noel Foga, outlined the kinds of loans that were disbursed by the bank. Mr. Foga said the portfolio for savings had seven different products, including alpha, starter, savings club, stepping stone, target savings, fixed investments and partner savings.
However, the meeting noted that several farmers were reluctant to repay their loans which restricted other farmers from obtaining loans.
Mr. Foga noted that the PC Bank has to borrow the money to reloan to farmers and when the farmers were reluctant to repay their loans Mr. Foga said other farmers were unable to receive loans. The meeting also noted that the portfolio for savings of the bank stood at $4,828,204.54 as of June 2000.
No registered title
Mr. Foga explained one of the burning issues affecting the ability of several cane farmers to obtain loans for replanting cane was the fact that they had no registered title to offer the PC bank for security as this was required by the bank.
Mr. Foga explained, however, the cane farmer could ask the sugar factory where he delivered his canes to send the bank a letter stating that payments towards the loan would be deducted when the cane farmers delivered his cane to the factory.
Mr. Fenton Gregory, an official from the Agricultural Credit Bank, spoke of the development of the PC bank system since the amalgamation of the PC banks in 1994.
Guest speaker for the meeting was Mr. Headley Brown, a farmer consultant who spoke on globilisation and the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Mr. Brown said that Jamaica has to produce the best quality items whether in agriculture or manufacturing or processing at competitive prices.
Mr. Audley Walker, manager of the PC Bank, welcomed the farmers in attendance and urged them to use the facilities of the PC bank wisely for their own benefits.
