BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – The Central Bank of Barbados (CBB) says it will make available a total of BDS200 million (One Barbados dollar=US$0.50 cents) in Barbados Optional Savings Scheme (BOSS+) bonds from July 1 this year.
The BOSS+, introduced in September last year, is a five-year security that the Barbados government is issuing and is sold at par (face value) and pays 4.5 percent interest per annum.
“The initial series of BOSS+ bonds proved that there is an appetite for investment among Barbadians, so it’s a given that we have made a second tranche available for those who haven’t invested as yet as well as for those who have but want to acquire more,” said Julia Weekes, the Central Bank’s Director of Banking and Investments.
“The big story has been CIBC FirstCaribbean’s substantial purchase, but we are seeing interest from institutional investors and the average Barbadian,” she added.
In April, CIBC FirstCaribbean, Barbados’ largest bank, invested BDS$100 million in BOSS+ bonds, and the Central Bank’s quarterly economic press release later that month noted that in March 2023, individual investors had taken up BDS$22 million of the security.
Weekes confirmed that the terms of the new series remain the same as for the previous one. “The minimum investment is BDS$500, we’ll continue to pay interest twice a year, and investors still have the option to cash in after 24 months. And, of course, BOSS+ bonds continue to be protected from debt restructuring.”
The bonds include clauses to protect creditors and the Government from future debt distress during a natural disaster or a pandemic. The Natural Disaster Deferment and the Pandemic Deferment Clauses allow Government to capitalize interest and defer scheduled amortization for two years if a pandemic or natural disaster occurs.
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