BARBADOS PUBLIC WORKERS’ CO-OPERATIVE CREDIT UNION LIMITED
NON-CONSOLIDATED ANNUAL REPORT 2016
64
BARBADOS PUBLIC WORKERS' CO-OPERATIVE CREDIT UNION LIMITED
Notes to the Non-consolidated Financial Statements
For the year ended March 31, 2016
(Expressed in Barbados dollars)
49
24. Financial Risk Management,
continued
Credit risk,
continued
Loans with renegotiated terms and the Credit Unionʼs forbearance policy
Loans with renegotiated terms are loans that have been restructured due to deterioration in the
borrower’s financial position, where the Credit Union has made concessions by agreeing to terms and
conditions that are more favourable for the borrower than the Credit Union has provided initially. The
Credit Union implements forbearance policy in order to maximise collection opportunities and minimise
the risk of default. Under the Credit Union’s forbearance policy, loan forbearance is granted on a
selective basis in situations where the debtor is currently in default on its debt, or where there is a high
risk of default, there is evidence that the debtor made all the reasonable efforts to pay under the original
contractual terms and it is expected to be able to meet the revised terms.
The revised terms usually include extending maturity, changing timing of interest payments and
amendments to the terms of loan covenants. All loans are subject to the forbearance policy.
Once the loan is restructured it remains in this category independent of satisfactory performance after
restructuring. The Credit Union’s Credit Committee regularly reviews reports on forbearance activities.
Write-off policy
The Credit Union writes off a loan or an investment debt security balance, and any related allowances
for impairment losses, when it is determined that the loan or security is uncollectible. This determination
is made after considering information such as the occurrence of significant changes in the
borrower’s/issuer’s financial position such that the borrower/issuer can no longer pay the obligation, or
that proceeds from collateral will not be sufficient to pay back the entire exposure. For smaller balance
standardised loans, write-off decisions generally are based on a product-specific past due status.
Commitments and guarantees
To meet the financial needs of customers, the Credit Union enters into various irrevocable commitments
and contingent liabilities. Even though these obligations may not be recognised on the statement of
financial position, they do contain credit risk and are therefore part of the overall risk of the Credit Union.
Liquidity risk and funding management
Liquidity risk is defined as the risk that the Credit Union will encounter difficulty in meeting obligations
associated with financial liabilities that are settled by delivering cash or another financial asset. Liquidity
risk arises because of the possibility that the Credit Union might be unable to meet its payment
obligations when they fall due under both normal and stressed circumstances. To limit this risk,
management has arranged diversified funding sources in addition to its core deposit base, and adopted
a policy of managing assets with liquidity in mind and of monitoring future cash flows and liquidity on a
daily basis. The Credit Union has developed internal control processes and contingency plans for
managing liquidity risk. This incorporates an assessment of expected cash flows and the availability of
high grade collateral which could be used to secure additional funding if required.
