Jamaica\'s reserves safe

The Finance Minister, Audley Shaw said there should be no worry about Jamaica’s reserve funds being lost in the United States financial meltdown.



His comments come amid jitters that the US fall-out could have a rippling effect on small economies like Jamaica’s.



Responding to questions in Parliament this afternoon, Mr Shaw said Jamaica’s reserves are being held in a safe bank.



Already, three major US banks have collapsed in the meltdown.



But Mr Shaw is insisting that the financial crisis in the US would not have any major impact on the local banking sector.



He said Jamaica’s financial system remains well capitalised and is being closely supervised by the central bank.



Mr. Shaw said domestic financial institutions have suffered only minimal setback from their relationships with foreign institutions in the wake of the US meltdown.



According to Mr Shaw, there are systems in place to cushion the effects of any possible fall out.



He said the Bank of Jamaica stands ready to lend liquidity support to financial institutions in order to settle current obligations.



The finance minister also added from all reports, the potential for US dollar support over the next few months would only be a small portion of Jamaica’s Net International Reserve (NIR).



The NIR now stands at US$2.2 billion.