DEPUTY governor of the Bank of Jamaica (BoJ) Dr Jide Lewis says the institution has been working behind the scenes to see how it can assist people in possession of intangible assets such as intellectual property to have greater access to credit.

Dr Lewis, who was speaking at Thursday’s sitting of the joint select committee on the Security Interests in Personal Property Act (SIPPA), said the central bank has been engaging with stakeholders including the Jamaica Intellectual Property Office that are working on some of the more technical and operational issues which would factor into the arrangements that could be made under the SIPPA legislation.

“So, for example, how do you value intangible assets such as intellectual property? Is there a business model which persons can get into that particular space? We do know there is evidence in other jurisdictions that there can be the development of a market for patents, for example, and one can buy a patent, for example, in the United States.

“Can our markets in Jamaica develop to the point where one can have a valuation market for patents or for copyright for lyrics or for songs? These are things that have to be explored,” he said.

Dr Lewis pointed out that deposit-taking institutions will have to understand how these valuations are done and the extent to which they would want to rely on those valuations because it could be beneficial to them if there is a market available where they can check the prices and they have a sense of the mechanism that allows for that.

“So these are some of the matters that have to be settled and it’s not necessarily a linear path of having one discussion and agreeing. It is quite an iterative process that we have been working on,” he said.

In the meantime, Opposition Senator Sophia Frazer Binns suggested that there needs to be further discussions with stakeholders about this aspect, and particularly on areas where there are differing views.

She was specifically referring to the BOJ and the Jamaica Banking Association’s interpretation of how collateral should be handled.

“My understanding [is that the] Banking Association [believes that] based on the standards [set by the BOJ], that there is a limitation as to the extent to which they can accept assets or collateral that would be acceptable under SIPPA. I’m hearing the BOJ saying we are not regulating products or collateral…the BOJ is saying we’re not standing in your way, we just want to ensure that there’s sufficient liquidity, there’s a balance in the credit, but in light of the two views I am recommending that perhaps what is needed is for more conversations to be had among all the stakeholders so that they understand,” she said.

“The conversation is taking place right here in Parliament to inform the legislation, but at the same time, I believe that the conversation needs to continue and perhaps widened to other stakeholders so that there is an understanding across the board as to what is acceptable and what can and cannot be done if you’re really supposed to give effect to the tenets in the SIPPA Act,” she added.

Chairman of the committee Senator Aubyn Hill said he was in support of those continued discussions and suggested that a half or whole day seminar be arranged to facilitate this.

“That would be such an important meeting for buy-in to be had. If you want to make legislation that will work and work well in an area that is up until now quite amorphous in its formation, then we might very well take that suggestion and see where we could go with it,” he said.