It is disingenuous for Dr Davies to simply assert that the problems of the sector were caused by executive chairmen of the domestic financial institutions. The reality of the situation is that the problem was systemic, and no single major domestic bank and life insurance company escaped the devastating effects of the hostile economic environment, especially the prolonged high interest rates.

For the record, in the case of the Eagle Group, I served as executive Chairman of only one entity – Eagle Merchant Bank – where Daisy Coke served as deputy chairman. I served as chairman on most of the other boards, including the Crown Eagle Life Insurance Co, where Dr Oswald Harding served as deputy chairman. There were about 36 directors who, along with dedicated and competent management and staff, spearheaded the formation and success of entities like Eagle Merchant Bank, Eagle Commercial Bank, Eagle Unit Trust, Eagle General Insurance Company, and Eagle Permanent Building Society.

These were viable financial entities that formed the backbone of the Eagle Premium Growth Fund, which was created to raise capital to pay off some J$6-billion in high-cost funds at Crown Eagle, where there was a serious mismatch of assets and liabilities that characterised the industry. Dr Davies launched the Fund in 1996, but it failed to raise the monies needed, partly because of competition from Government paper around the same time that was paying 50 per cent interest.

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