….still worried over bridge investment given imminent FIA regulationThe Committee of Concerned New Building Society members’ yesterday scored big at the company’s Annual General Meeting yesterday at the Cotton Tree Primary School, West Coast Berbice.The entourage that traveled to Berbice including eminent Chartered Accountant Christopher Ram, Attorney-at-law Leslie Sobers and Chairman of the Committee Cyril Walker among others, succeeded in amending a motion to have the Board commit to a number of pertinent measures.The amended motion now allows for the ceiling on mortgages to be raised from $10M to $12M and such other sums as decided by the Board and approved by the Minister of Finance.According to Ram, the committee had no problem with increasing the ceiling to $12M given the increased cost of building but the remainder of the motion had to go.The western entrance of the Berbice Bridge for which NBS has been criticizedHe on behalf of the committee was successful in this bid. The Board agreed and subsequently agreed that a sub loan committee with specific terms of reference be established.Ram was tasked with preparing the terms of reference and was optimistic that the commitment will be honoured.As it relates to arguments that the NBS was in violation of the Financial Institutions Act Ram had requested from the Bank of Guyana the reasons for this and presented the AGM with a commitment from the BOG to regularise NBS.According to the document signed by the Bank’s governor,Discount NFL Jerseys, Lawrence Williams,cheap nfl jerseys, and addressed to the Chairman of the Committee he wrote,Wholesale Authentic Jerseys, “I wish to advise that the Bank has already taken steps to bring the NBS under its direct supervision…“The action taken by the Bank has been endorsed by the Authorities and the necessary legislative changes to give effect to a prudent regulatory regime are being drafted…. Until such time as the legislative changes are enacted, the Bank will continue to engage the NBS on general issues of safety and soundness through authorised inspections and offsite surveillance.”It added also and was confirmed by Chairman of the Board of Directors Dr. Nanda Gopaul that “it is important to note that the Bank has conducted several inspections of NBS upon the authorisation of the Minister of Finance in keeping with the NBS Act…The last such inspection was as at May 31,Wholesale Jerseys, 2007…“Following every inspection,Nike Air Max Cheap Wholesale, the findings have been communicated to the Minister of Finance and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the NBS…The findings of the inspections point to a healthy mortgage portfolio and general compliance with the NBS Act notwithstanding some management issues.”According to Ram, this imminent move would have serious implications for the purchase of the bonds held by Colonial Life Insurance Company (CLICO) Guyana as it relates to the Berbice Bridge. According to the accountant it would then be considered a high concentration investment and some of it would probably have to be sold.As it relates to the change in auditor of the company by replacing Nizam Ali and Company with Solomon,Cheap Jerseys From China, Parmessar and Company, it was pointed out by Gopaul that despite the fact that the company was free to be re-elected as auditors it was that company that chose not to be re-elected after serving the company for some 30 years.The motion was passed to allow the new company to audit with the same remuneration as was paid to the previous company.The Board of Directors was also re-elected with their remunerations, as was the sum of $8M approved for donations to charity and educational purposes approved or 2009.Another bone of contention involved the monies invested in pounds sterling which resulted in a loss of some $200M arising almost entirely from the investment in UK Government Treasury Bills which are denominated in pounds sterling, the exchange rate of which declined to the Guyana dollar by more than 20 per cent between December 31, 2007 and December 31, 2008.On this issue Ram was again placed at the fore and will have to come up with a way to repatriate the funds and invest in a currency with which the Guyana currency was more aligned thus making it a more secure investment.Ram, at the end of the meeting said that the Committee did not start as he would have liked but in the end good sense prevailed.He noted that at the end of the day all of the questions by the committee were not answered. There was silence on asset concentration, “whether or not the NBS is good or not.”As it relates to that query, Dr. Gopaul had sought to staunchly defend tha