Letter

No GOJ subsidy in August

We refer to the headline and sections of the article 'Needy GOJ sinks BOJ deeper into the red' on Page 2 of the Financial Gleaner of Friday, August 27, 2010, which was grossly inaccurate and misleading.

The amounts quoted indicate that the writer used information contained in the Bank of Jamaica balance sheet as at 11 August 2010, published on 25 August 2010, as the basis for the conclusions drawn.

The facts are:

1. The bank made no advances to the Government in the two-week period 28 July to 11 August.

2. The increase in the balance sheet item 'Advances and Other Government Receivable' was solely due to the J$0.5 billion increase in the operational loss of the bank over the two-week period.

The writer clearly recognised the change in profitability over the reporting periods, 28 July 2010 to 11 August 2010, but failed to make the connection, even though the notes to the published balance sheets explicitly disclosed the contents of the item 'Advances and Other Government Receivable'.

3. The loss of the Bank of Jamaica is the 'receivable' component of the balance sheet item, which, pursuant to the Bank of Jamaica Act, is required to be covered by the Government after the end of the bank's financial year once the financial statements have been audited.

As the Financial Gleaner is an important medium of communicating financial information and analysis to the public, we would ask that you correct the inaccuracy in the article and make these facts known to the public.

Herbert A. Hylton

Financial Controller

Bank of Jamaica