Imbert knocks Mark's statements on Barita, Cornerstone

Describing statements made by opposition senator Wade Mark in Parliament as “reckless diatribe” and “flights of fantasy” in a release on Thursday, Minister of Finance Colm Imbert defended First Citizens Bank and its investment into Jamaican-based investment holding company Cornerstone.

Imbert said, “Senator Mark alleged without a shred of evidence, other than regurgitating unfounded insinuations in the newspaper, that FCB had invested in hundreds of millions of dollars in what he described as an unknown, over-leveraged, fly-by-night company involved in a Ponzi scheme.”

He said Barita’s publicly available 2021 annual report indicated it had assets of J$90 billion (US$600 million).

“A simple internet search will also reveal that as of July 2022, Barita is one of the top five largest companies listed on the Jamaican stock exchange.”

The release said Barita’s 2021 annual report also gave details on Cornerstone’s organisational structure.

“The truth is that FCB’s 7.4 per cent shareholding in Barita is currently worth J$7.91 billion (US$52.73 million). FCB paid J$5.85 billion for Barita’s shares and made a profit of J$2.06 billion or US$13.7 million on the purchase. Therefore, the purchase has paid handsome dividends for FCB.”

The release also said FCB invested less than ten per cent of the value of Cornerstone’s shareholding in Barita, and made a capital gain of $TT90 million through the investment.