The Free National Movement's (FNM) protest against matters relating to Bank of The Bahamas (BOB) was successful in getting the Official Opposition on the front page, but was lacking in any real impact.
For one, the FNM did not show up with any force.
The march appeared to be more of an exercise in trying to stay relevant than anything else.
Outside the bank's Shirley Street location, FNM Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis said, "We have assembled here at the people's bank to declare with one loud voice that enough is enough.
"The government must act and they must act now. The use of government voting power to prop up failed leadership in the bank is unacceptable when the Bahamian taxpayers have been made to swallow a $100 million increase in the public debt load in order to prop up the same bank."
Still, many people did not understand the purpose of the march, other than to win a headline or two.
The FNM's protest came months after former FNM Chairman Darron Cash appeared to be a lone voice in the opposition wilderness crying for some attention to be given to the state of BOB.
Two senior members of the FNM told National Review they felt privately that the time for demonstrating had long passed, but they needed to publicly support their party, which is intent on portraying a unified front under its recently re-elected leader.
During the protest on Wednesday, Minnis called for a shake-up of the bank's management.
The impact of his call for a shake-up was diminished though as it had already been revealed that Managing Director Paul McWeeney will depart in six months.
We are not suggesting that the bank's restructuring is still not necessary, but the FNM's "outrage" over the BOB saga is questionable.
We too await a comprehensive announcement on this restructuring.
"It's a work in progress," Richard Demeritte, BOB's chairman, told National Review.
"We've been able to get a very clear view of where we're headed and a draft report has already been put together."
The key reason why the march did not gain traction was perhaps that sensible people know that BOB's troubles did not start under the current board appointed by the Christie administration.
The troubles that climaxed with the October 31 announcement that the government was transferring $100 million in bad loans to a new entity called Resolve, have been festering for a very long time.
Those who showed up last Wednesday in their red shirts to protest should be aware of this.
In the absence of any concrete suggestions on how to improve operations at the bank, the protest came off as disingenuous, ineffective and misdirected.
It reminded us of Minnis and the FNM's consistent criticisms of value-added tax without any alternative proposals for fiscal reform.
Demeritte told National Review, "The things which were given specific spotlight cover the period 2007 to 2012.
"That's the period under scrutiny and what is happening is the board of which I am chair we're tidying that up.
"We're not looking at what administration did what. It's a banking issue to us. It's not a political issue and we're doing everything we possibly can to ensure that we give the bank the strength it needs back.
"It belongs to the Bahamian people and we've got the responsibility to tidy it up and that's what we're doing."
Demeritte said he did not pay attention to the FNM's protest "like most Bahamians would not pay attention to it".
Responding to the march, Progressive Liberal Party Chairman Bradley Roberts said the FNM-appointed BOB board of directors approved the $100 million worth of bad loans.
He pointed out that Minnis was a Cabinet minister.
Asked about the bad loans approved under the FNM administration, Minnis responded: "If bad loans were made under the FNM, does that make it right? Transparency is the order of the day."
In a press statement early last year, BOB said "virtually all" of the loans involving so-called political persons were made in the period 2008-2010 when these persons were not in government.
"Indeed, since 2011, there have been very few new commercial relationships established at all, the bank having decided instead to concentrate on potentially more profitable areas of the retail banking market," BOB said.
It added that the time period was significant in dispelling the idea that politics played a role in the granting of loans.
On Wednesday, Minnis called on the government to reveal which politicians owe the bank and how much they owe.
"I can say with confidence that none of my members [have] gotten any money," he said.
Demeritte said none of the loans from politically exposed persons (PEPs) were transferred to Resolve.
"Certainly, all the loans put together, whether they're PEPs or otherwise, together they would have caused us to get into the difficulties that the bank got into," he said.
Following the FNM protest, Prime Minister Perry Christie accused the party of making a "direct attack on the bank's shareholders".
Christie accused the FNM of being reckless and irresponsible.
Demeritte also believes protests could undermine the bank, but he said if handled properly the bank could avoid being negatively impacted by politics.
"People who don't understand how banks operate and feel that their funds might not be safe will certainly become concerned," he said.
"But in due course as time blows away and we're back on a proper road to making the bank liquid, how it ought to be, and cleaning up all the bits and pieces that need to be done, that's where we're focusing at."

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