St Kitts Nevis Prime Minister indicates that local banks are well capitalized

In a recent  budget address the Prime Minister of St. Kitts Nevis  Dr Denzil Douglas indicated that although the global financial markets remain uncertain, our commercial banks remain well capitalized and poised to make a significant contribution to our future development. As of December 2012, the assets held by the commercial banks totalled $5.5

billion, representing a 3.2% increase over the $5.3 billion recorded at the end of 2011. During the year under review, deposits grew by 9.0% to $3.7 billion while loans and advances contracted by 1.6% to $2.5 billion. The approval of loans and advances remained subdued as a result of the very cautious stance of banks and the slow rate of recovery in the Construction Sector during 2012.