Revised Laws of Saint Lucia (2023)

PRELIMINARY

ARTICLE 1
TITLE

This Agreement shall be cited as the Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation Agreement of 2017.

ARTICLE 2
INTERPRETATION

In this Agreement, unless the context suggests otherwise —

“Audit and Risk Committee” means the Committee appointed under Article 24 for the purpose of advising the Board on matters relating to the audit of accounts and risk management of the Credit Guarantee Corporation;

“Board” means the Board of Directors of the Credit Guarantee Corporation established under Article 11;

“Central Bank” means the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank established under Article 3 of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank Agreement, done at Port-of-Spain on the 5^th day of July, 1983;

“Credit Guarantee Corporation” means the Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation established under Article 3;

“Credit Guarantee Scheme” means a scheme established under Article 38 for the purpose of providing credit guarantees to participating lenders that enter into loan agreements with participating borrowers;

“Credit Guarantee Fund” means the Credit Guarantee Fund established and maintained under Article 31 for purposes that include holding all amounts transferred to it by the Credit Guarantee Corporation, and for making payments in respect of credit guarantees issued by the Credit Guarantee Corporation;

“Currency Union”, or “ECCU” refers collectively to the territories of Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, The Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Christopher and Nevis, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines which use the Eastern Caribbean currency as their official currency;

“Director” means a Director of the Board;

“Finance Committee” means the Committee appointed under Article 23 for the purpose of advising the Board on matters relating to compensation of Directors, Officers and employees and the budget of the Credit Guarantee Corporation;

“Financial Institution” means a juridical person licensed to conduct banking business in the Currency Union under the Banking Act; or other regulated lending institutions including credit unions and development banks;

“General Fund” means the General Fund of the Credit Guarantee Corporation maintained under Article 30 for the purpose of meeting all functions of the Credit Guarantee Corporation other than those required to be met by the Credit Guarantee Fund;

“he” and its grammatical variations and cognate expressions, shall include male and female persons;

“Investor” includes a financial institution, Participating Government, or any other institution that is approved by the Board of Directors to contribute to the capital of the Credit Guarantee Corporation under Article 26;

“Loan Agreement” means an agreement under which a Participating Lender agrees to advance to a Qualifying Enterprise a sum of money upon —

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   (a)     such date or dates as may be specified in the agreement; or

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   (b)     the happening of such event as may be so specified,

in consideration of the Qualifying Enterprise agreeing to repay to the Participating Lender the principal of any sum so advanced, and interest (if any) thereon, on such date as may be so specified, but does not include an agreement to provide an overdraft facility to a Qualifying Enterprise; and “loan” shall be construed accordingly;

“Member Territory” means a Territory or State, as the case may be, of a Participating Government;

“Monetary Council” means the Monetary Council established under Article 7 of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank Agreement done at Port-of-Spain on the 5^th day of July, 1983;

“Officer” means —

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   (a)     the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, or corporate secretary;

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   (b)     any other individual appointed as an Officer by the Credit Guarantee Corporation under Article 45;

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   (c)     any other individual who performs functions similar to those performed by a person referred to in paragraph (a), whether or not the individual is formally designated as an Officer;

“Operations Manual” means the document created under paragraph (3) of Article 39 for the purpose of providing guidance on the operation of the Credit Guarantee Scheme under this Agreement;

“OECS” means the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States established under the Treaty of Basseterre done at Basseterre, St Kitts on the 18^th June 1981, and continued under the Revised Treaty of Basseterre establishing the OECS Economic Union done at Gros Islet Saint Lucia on the 18^th June 2010;

“Participating Borrower” means a qualifying enterprise —

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   (a)     belonging to a category to which the Credit Guarantee Scheme applies, and

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   (b)     that has entered into a Qualifying Loan Agreement with a Participating Lender;

“Participating Government” means an OECS Member State that is a party to this Agreement;

“Participating Lender” means a financial institution that meets the criteria set out in Article 41 for providing loans in the ordinary course of business to Qualifying Enterprises;

“Policy Committee” means the Committee appointed under Article 22 for the purpose of establishing policies for the entire operations of the Credit Guarantee Corporation;

“Qualifying Enterprise” means an enterprise that meets the criteria for participation in the Credit Guarantee Scheme under Article 42;

“Qualifying Loan Agreement” means a loan agreement —

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   (a)     in respect of which there has been compliance with the conditions specified in the Credit Guarantee Scheme under paragraph (3) of Article 40;

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   (b)     belonging to a category of loan agreements entered into by Qualifying Enterprises to which the Credit Guarantee Scheme applies;

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   (c)     that is made for a purpose that does not contravene a provision of the Credit Guarantee Scheme in furtherance of paragraph (3)(d) of Article 40 applies; and

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   (d)     that restricts a lender from exercising its powers under the loan agreement in a manner that will result in —

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      (i)     the amount being loaned under the agreement exceeding the maximum amount so specified; or

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      (ii)     the aggregate of amounts being loaned under all such agreements with the Qualifying Enterprise concerned exceeding the maximum amount so specified;

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   (e)     that has been approved for a credit guarantee;

“Regulator” means a body established by law in the Currency Union to provide regulation and prudential supervision of financial institutions.