New Governor of BOJ Installed

August 20, 2019

Former President and Chair of the Sagicor group Richard Byles enjoyed his first day in office as the new governor of the Bank of Jamaica on Monday. 

With growth for almost 18 consecutive quarters; the lowest unemployment rate in the nation’s history and a world beating stock market, the new Governor of the Bank of Jamaica Richard Byles could hardly have selected a more auspicious time to take over the reigns of the central bank as its 12th governor.

However there are challenges on the horizon, not least of which is the escalating trade war between the United States and China, that has the potential to plunge the global economy into recession.

Guests on CVM live: Head of Scotia Group Jamaica, David Noel and Economist Ralston Hyman laid out what they think the priorities of the new governor should be.

David Noel highlighted other performance metrics of the economy as a testament to the performance of the previous governor Brian Wynter and pointed to their continuation by Governor Byles.

The financial experts both agreed that the Bank of Jamaica would continue to pursue reforms to make the bank more independent and transparent as well as maintaining  price stability or low inflation.