Bank of Antigua

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}} {{More footnotes|date=February 2016}} {{Infobox company | name = Bank of Antigua | logo = | type = [[Subsidiary]] | foundation = {{start date and age|1981}} | location = [[St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda|St. John's]], [[Antigua]] | key_people = [[Allen Stanford]] | industry = [[Financial]]<br />[[Commercial banks]] | parent = [[Stanford Financial Group]] | num_employees = | homepage = [https://web.archive.org/web/20090218012958/http://bankofantigua.com/ bankofantigua.com] }}

'''Bank of Antigua''' was an Antigua-based [[bank]] that was owned by the [[Stanford Financial Group]] and was central to the [[Ponzi scheme]] run by [[Allen Stanford]]. It was originally formed on the 10 February 1981 in [[St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda|St. John's]]. When the local Bank of Antigua ran into difficulties, Stanford stepped in in 1990 to take it over at the request of Prime Minister [[Lester Bird]].<ref name=nyt>{{cite web |last=Krauss |first=Clifford |last2=Creswell |first2=Julie |last3=Savage |first3=Charlie |date=2009-02-20 |title=Fraud Case Shakes a Billionaire's Caribbean Realm |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/21/business/21stanford.html |website=The New York Times |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331111713/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/21/business/21stanford.html |archive-date=2022-03-31 |access-date=2026-03-22}}</ref>

The bank was located near Antigua's international airport, alongside Stanford's other holdings, including the Stanford Cricket Ground and the headquarters of [[Stanford International Bank]], which claimed $51 billion in deposits and assets under management and more than 70,000 clients in 140 countries.<ref name=theguardian>{{cite web |last=Pilkington |first=Ed |date=2009-02-21 |title=Islanders count cost of billionaire's collapsed empire |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/feb/21/allen-stanford-banking-antigua-barbuda |website=The Guardian |access-date=2026-03-22}}</ref><ref name=cnn2/>

==Stanford fraud== In the late 1990s, the Antiguan government formed a banking advisory board and appointed Stanford himself as a member, despite the board also overseeing his own bank - a move that alarmed American authorities who saw an inherent conflict of interest. The project was funded by money lent or granted by Stanford.<ref name=nyt/>

The fraud had been flagged as early as January 2009 by financial analyst Alex Dalmady, who published an article titled ''Duck Tales'' in ''VenEconomy Monthly'' after examining the bank's public records for a friend considering an investment.<ref>{{cite web |last=Baram |first=Marcus |date=2009-03-21 |title=Alex Dalmady, The Man Who Exposed Fugitive Financier Allen Stanford |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/interview-meet-the-man-wh_n_168110 |website=HuffPost |access-date=2026-03-22}}</ref><ref name=cnn>{{cite web |title=Bank's performance was too good to be true, analyst says |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/02/26/stanford.bank.whistleblower/index.html |website=CNN |date=2009-02-26 |access-date=2026-03-22}}</ref> Dalmady identified several warning signs, including certificates of deposit offering returns of 7,5%, far above the prevailing U.S. rate of 4-5%, and a compound annual deposit growth rate of 34% between 1999 and 2008, with total deposits growing from $624 million to $8,4 billion over that period.<ref name=cnn/>

When the Ponzi scheme was exposed in 2009, the bank was taken over by the [[Eastern Caribbean Central Bank]] (ECCB) on 20 February 2009.<ref>[https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gWm-v2k9Dwr9XmUwMMFQs6p8W4XgD96FEFGO4]{{dead link|date=June 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> When the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced its charges against Stanford, small investors staged a run on the Bank of Antigua the following day.<ref name=theguardian/> Around 200 customers queued in heat to withdraw their money, and Bank of Antigua cheques were refused at local supermarkets.<ref>{{cite web |title=Antiguans may lose the most |url=https://trinidadexpress.com/news/local/antiguans-may-lose-the-most/article_14652681-91f4-5e2f-ac87-2cf7047142f3.html |website=Trinidad Express |date=2009-02-18 |access-date=2026-03-22}}</ref>

Local clients were told that processing of withdrawal requests could take several days. Stanford also announced a two-month moratorium on early redemptions of certificates of deposit, telling employees the measure was temporary.<ref>{{cite web |last=Perez |first=Evan |last2=Simpson |first2=Glenn R. |last3=Searcey |first3=Dionne |date=2009-02-17 |title=Stanford Depositors Head to Antigua for Redemptions |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123483075794395665 |website=The Wall Street Journal |url-access=subscription |access-date=2026-03-22}}</ref>

The Financial Services Regulatory Commission of Antigua and Barbuda appointed Nigel Hamilton-Smith and Peter Wastell of Britain-based Vantis Business Recovery Services as receivers to manage Stanford International Bank and Stanford Trust Company.<ref name=cnn2>{{cite web |title=Stanford scandal spreads |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/02/20/antigua.stanford.bank/index.html |website=CNN |date=2009-02-20 |access-date=2026-03-22}}</ref> Stanford was the second-largest employer on the island, after the government, with around 1,300 employees in Antigua alone.<ref name=theguardian/>

==Nationalisation==

On February 23, the [[Eastern Caribbean Central Bank]] and the [[Government of Antigua and Barbuda]] announced the creation of Eastern Caribbean Amalgamated Investment Company (ECAIC), a new entity combining indigenous banks within the [[Eastern Caribbean Currency Union]] - including the Antigua Commercial Bank, St Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla National Bank, Eastern Caribbean Financial Holdings, National Commercial Bank of [[St Vincent and the Grenadines]], and [[National Bank of Dominica]],<ref name=sknvibes2>{{cite web |last=Phipps |first=VonDez |title=Stanford victims sue ECCB, SKNA National Bank and others |url=https://www.sknvibes.com/news/newsdetails.cfm/13219 |website=SKNVibes |access-date=2026-03-22}}</ref> - the Government of Antigua and Barbuda, and East Caribbean Financial Holding Company Limited, with the government receiving a 25% stake and the Antigua Commercial Bank 15%.<ref name=SKNVibes>{{cite web |title=ECCB creates new entity to take control of Bank of Antigua |url=https://www.sknvibes.com/news/newsdetails.cfm/8684 |website=SKNVibes |date=2009-02-23 |access-date=2026-03-22}}</ref> [[PricewaterhouseCoopers]] was engaged by the ECCB to carry out a valuation of the bank.<ref name=SKNVibes/>

The bank was renamed the Eastern Caribbean Amalgamated Bank by the ECCB and was disposed of in November 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.centralbanking.com/central-banking/news/2124895/eccb-disposes-stake-stanford-bank |title=ECCB disposes stake in former Stanford bank |date=November 14, 2011|website=Central Banking |access-date=2016-02-10}}</ref>

==Aftermath==

In the aftermath, Antiguan authorities strengthened the regulatory environment by retraining staff, expanding the legal powers of supervisory bodies such as the Financial Services Regulatory Commission and the Financial Intelligence Unit, and enforcing existing legislation more strictly.<ref>{{cite web |last=Tucker |first=Duncan |date=2013-12-13 |title=Antigua's Robust Recovery from the Stanford International Scandal |url=https://nearshoreamericas.com/antiguas-robust-recovery-stanford-international-scandal/ |website=Nearshore Americas |access-date=2026-03-22}}</ref>

==Legal disputes==

In February 2013, the Official Stanford Investors Committee filed a lawsuit against Antigua and Barbuda, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, and 23 former Stanford Financial Group executives, accusing them of aiding the fraud.<ref name=expressnews>{{cite web |last=Brubaker Calkins |first=Laurel |date=2013-02-18 |title=Stanford investors sue Antigua, bank |url=https://www.expressnews.com/business/article/Stanford-investors-sue-Antigua-bank-4288422.php |website=San Antonio Express-News |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250730185014/https://www.expressnews.com/business/article/Stanford-investors-sue-Antigua-bank-4288422.php |archive-date=2025-07-30 |access-date=2026-03-22}}</ref> The committee sought repayment of at least $90 million in loans that Stanford had made to Antigua and accused the country's officials of having actively shielded Stanford's scheme from regulatory scrutiny.<ref name=expressnews/>

The investors argued that the distribution of the Bank of Antigua's ownership to the Antiguan government and other Caribbean banks constituted a second misappropriation of funds, and that the bank's value should instead be distributed to Stanford's victims and creditors. The lawsuit also highlighted a separate conflict of interest: the head of the ECCB's monetary council at the time of the bank's nationalisation in 2009 was Antiguan [[Ministry of Finance, Corporate Governance and Public Private Partnerships|Finance Minister]] [[Errol Cort]], who had previously served as Stanford's personal attorney.<ref name=expressnews/>

[[Attorney General of Antigua and Barbuda|Antigua and Barbuda's Attorney General]], [[Justin Simon (politician)|Justin Simon]], rejected the allegations, stating that the ECCB had, in fact, injected EC$89 million (approximately US$32,9 million) to save the bank from collapse and that no expropriation had taken place.<ref name=sknvibes2/> Meanwhile, the Stanford Victims Coalition launched a campaign called ''Anti-Crime, Anti-Antigua'', urging international travel professionals and investors to boycott hotels, cruises and investments in Antigua and Barbuda.<ref name=sknvibes2/>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Portal|Banks}} *[https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7897637.stm BBC Antigua bank hit by fraud charge ] *[https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/18/business/18stanford.html?_r=1&partner=MOREOVERNEWS&ei=5040 New York Times Bank of Antigua] *[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/international/england/4690660/Sir-Allen-Stanfords-attempted-flight-thwarted-as-credit-card-refused.html Allen flight to Antigua cancelled]

[[Category:Bank failures]] [[Category:Economy of Antigua and Barbuda]] [[Category:Stanford Financial Group]] [[Category:Banks established in 1981]] [[Category:1981 establishments in Antigua and Barbuda]] [[Category:Banks disestablished in 2009]] [[Category:2009 disestablishments in Antigua and Barbuda]] [[Category:Defunct banks of Antigua and Barbuda]]