In this way, growth of the middle class wealth takes place through judicious use of bank credit. As the lending rates have come down drastically from 21% to 5% the banks find it profitable to extend the customer base for mortgage and auto loans, agriculture credit, small business and consumers.
Several reasons account for the region’s relatively weaker economic performance. Perhaps the most critical reason stems from the lack of sufficient capacity, whether it is to stimulate and sustain potential growth, to confront unsustainably high public debt burdens, or to manage risks arising from financial integration in the Caribbean.