Public debt unit to allow citizen access – Straughn

Barbados’ public debt unit is to be overhauled and relaunched as an investor relations agency, part of a wider reform to strengthen debt management and open government securities investment to ordinary citizens, Minister in the Ministry of Finance Ryan Straughn said on Wednesday.

The plan, which he said would emphasise citizen participation in debt management, was outlined at the 20th Annual Meeting of the LAC Debt Group 2025, held at the Hilton Barbados. 

“Our debt agenda from a fiscal perspective … focused not just on development, but how do we unlock genuine opportunities for our participation with ordinary citizens within that process,” he said.

As part of the reforms, the debt unit will be restructured into an investor relations unit, responsible for front, middle and back office functions.

“So our debt unit will be transformed into what we describe as an investor relations type unit. To take responsibility for the front office, middle office, and the back office functions, because right now we have a relationship with the Central Bank as a fiscal agent,” Straughn said.

He also outlined the new functions of the unit: “The Treasury does Treasury notes, and what we are seeking to do is to ensure that we develop capacity to be able to proactively manage the portfolio as if it were any other productive sector of the economy and therefore, from an investor relations perspective.”

Cabinet has approved a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) framework, part of the government’s procurement law, to share risk with the private sector while increasing value for citizens.

“The investor relations component will be particularly focused on how do we extract the most value from entering into genuine PPPs with the private sector to shift risk onto the private sector in a way that delivers value for the citizens, but equally allows for growth to take place within the country,” Straughn said.

The new unit will also use digital platforms such as BIMPay to enable more Barbadians to participate in the domestic capital market.

“As we launch next year, … the Central Bank has taken ownership of the payments rail, which would allow every citizen in Barbados to receive and make payments in real time, such that you reduce the cost to the financial institutions, you reduce the cost to the merchants in order to financially include people.”

Straughn told reporters that, at present, individuals must buy a savings bond or treasury bill with a minimum of $500 or $1 000. The government plans to introduce smaller investment lots to broaden participation.

Straughn said: “We have already done some transformation, where, for example, if you as an individual, whatever the declared price for our treasury bills, we will allow you to participate in that, but what we want to do is to have … a small lot where if you have $50 right now, because a treasury bill is … 91 days.”

Digital notifications will further facilitate small-scale participation: “If you have $50 and you want to participate digitally on the app, you’ll get a notification … you have $50, you’ve got $75, you’ve got $100, and you can participate in that. By doing it digitally it means that it’s easier to facilitate the process. Right now, a lot of the systems are still a little bit analogue, so we have to issue the debt certificates and all those types of things, so it’s a little onerous.”

“So what we’re trying to do really is to make sure that the average person can actively participate in the debt market and get a rate of return just like anybody who has a few million dollars, which is the case,

The ultimate goal is to democratise access to government debt returns, the minister declared.

“The banks right now act as the brokers for the most part, so we try to democratise that, where it goes directly to the citizens.” (LG)