KINGSTON, Jamaica — Sagicor Financial Corporation Limited in responding to a report on the online news resource Barbados Today which said that the Group poses systematic risk for Barbados and the Caribbean region, has labelled the article as “grossly inaccurate and indeed recklessly careless” not suppoted by facts from its frequent and various public disclosures.

According to the article, a report published by the International Monetary Fund referred to the size and complexity of the Sagicor Group operation in 21 countries throughout the Caribbean, and holding assets equivalent to about 50 per cent of the GDP of Barbados, as larger than the Colonial Life Insurance Company (Trinidad) Limited (CLICO) before it collapsed.

It added that Sagicor’s group structure, business philosophy and operations are in many ways similar to those of CLICO.

CLICO is deemed to be the worst financial shock experienced by the region to date.

The report noted that while “a brief review” of the Sagicor’s financial statements and actuarial reports “did not reveal any untoward or serious financial or risk-related issues”, the IMF warned that the Sagicor group poses systemic risk for Barbados and the Caribbean region.

“Notwithstanding the acknowledgement of the systemic relevance of the group resulting from its size and interconnectedness, no formal college of supervisor exists, nor is the group subject to basic group-wide supervision,” the Barbados Today article said.

But Sagicor said it found it reckless that an article or a report could be published to suggest that the company is an under-regulated financial institution.

“We are a large company by Caribbean standards, but we are a well-governed, successful, solid institution. We would like to assure our policyholders, shareholders and customers of our financial strength. We remain committed to delivering quality products and services to our customers and competitive returns to our stakeholders,” the company said in a press release.

It said the group is a well governed, financially strong international financial institution, with total assets at September 30th 2017 of US $6.8 billion with capital of US $1.3 billion.

The company, which operates in 21 countries across the Caribbean, Latin America and the United States, said it is actively regulated by all of the regulators in these countries and is in good standing in each of these jurisdictions.