The OAS/DIL Project team made a second visit to Jamaica
in November as part of the diagnostic phase of the Secured Transactions Project that is being carried out in partnership with the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce (MIIC).
Continuing the process of consultation that
began last July, the team met with additional stakeholder groups to evaluate how the nascent regime is begin received and used by its constituents. On this occasion, the OAS Project Team met with the Jamaican Bar Association, Commercial Law SubCommittee, the Private Sector of Jamaica group, credit bureaus, entities that offer microfinance and microlending, development banks and several commercial banks, including Scotiabank, First Global, First Caribbean and JMMB Merchant Bank. The team also met with the Parliamentary Counsel to gain valuable background to the draft legislation that was enacted as the
Security Interests in Personal Property Act, 2013 (or SIPPA). As Jamaica has also recently enacted the
Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, 2014, a critical component for ensuring an effective and efficient secured transactions regime (which governs payment priorities among creditors who have made loans against a debtor’s movable assets) is consistency between that regime and the rules that govern payments to creditors upon insolvency of the debtor.
The results of the diagnosis
undertaken during these field visits will be
considered at a seminar to be held next February
10-12, 2015 with participation of local
stakeholder groups and various experts in
asset-based lending. It is hoped that the
seminar will also be attended by other Caribbean
states with a common law tradition that are
considering secured transactions reform. The
seminar will provide a venue for a rich exchange
of lessons learned and an opportunity to
strengthen and develop regional capacity in this
field. Similar seminars have been held for
Spanish-speaking OAS member states with a civil
law tradition in
El Salvador and most recently in
Peru.
Jamaica has recently improved its ranking in the Doing Business report that is prepared annually by the World Bank, moving from 85th place in 2014 to 58 in 2015. Undoubtedly, steps to modernize the legal framework such as those described above contribute towards creating an effective and efficient lending environment, which in turn, is
favorable for investment and bodes well for economic growth.
The OAS/DIL Secured Financing
Project is made possible through funding from
the Government of Canada.
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To see OAS Booklet — Secured Transactions Reform in the Americas, click here
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For additional information about Secured Transactions, please visit our Website
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For additional information about the Department, please visit our Website
