 Jamaica's economy grew strongly after the years of independence, but then stagnated in the 1980s, due to the heavy falls in price of bauxite and fluctuations in the price of agriculture.The financial sector was troubled in 1994, with many banks and insurance companies suffering heavy losses and liquidity problems.According to the Commonwealth Secretariat, "The government set up the Financial Sector Adjustment Company (Finsac) in January 1997 to assist these banks and companies, providing funds in return for equity, and acquired substantial holdings in banks and insurance companies and related companies.. but it only exasperated the problem, and brought the country into large external debt.