After decades of uneven financial protection for Barbados’ small-scale savers, the House of Assembly has passed a landmark piece of legislation that extends deposit insurance coverage to credit union members, ending a long-standing two-tier system that left hundreds of thousands of ordinary depositors unprotected. The Protection of Depositors Insurance Bill, which has drawn bipartisan support from veteran lawmakers and cabinet ministers, aligns regulatory protection for credit unions with that of commercial banks, cementing the sector’s place in the country’s formal financial ecosystem. For Christ Church West Member of Parliament Dr. William Duguid, a long-serving parliamentarian, the bill represents the finalization of a project launched 20 years ago, when deposit insurance was first rolled out for commercial bank customers. Until now, bank depositors enjoyed a government-backed safety net if their institution failed, while credit union members were left with no such guarantee—a disparity Duguid and other supporters have pushed to eliminate.
“This nullifies this two-tier system,” Duguid told the house. “We in Barbados don’t want a two-tier system, that only the banks got the coverage and the credit unions ain’t got none. We’re saying no.” To illustrate the real-world impact of the new law, Duguid shared the example of Dolores, a small-scale food vendor from Sargeant’s Village who saves small increments of her income. The bill, he explained, will give peace of mind to savers like her, guaranteeing that even if their credit union collapses, they will recover their savings up to a cap of $25,000.
“This legislation is to protect her,” he said. “Through this legislation, Dolores could say, you ain’t got to worry, your money insured, and after a period of time, you’re going to get back your money, and that’s what this legislation is about. That’s what this legislation is about, protecting the small man, the man that just got the $25 000, the $20 000, the $10 000, the $5 000, whatever it is up to $25 000.”
Beyond core deposit protection, Duguid highlighted two key structural provisions that make the legislation flexible and efficient. First, the law requires periodic reviews of the $25,000 coverage limit every three years, eliminating the need for full parliamentary amendments to adjust coverage amounts as economic conditions shift. Second, the bill establishes a dedicated public corporation that will also act as the official liquidation authority if a credit union fails, cutting through bureaucratic red tape to speed up compensation for eligible depositors. For Duguid, the entire framework aligns perfectly with the core credit union ethos of “people helping people,” a principle that has guided the movement since its founding in Barbados.
Minister of Labour Colin Jordan, the Member of Parliament for St Peter, echoed Duguid’s support, framing the bill as a historic recognition of credit unions as foundational institutions for working-class Barbadians. Jordan noted that the credit union movement grew directly out of grassroots community financial systems including the landship, susu, and meeting turn—traditional collective savings models created by ordinary people to overcome systemic financial exclusion. Today, he added, the sector boasts roughly 200,000 members, meaning a majority of Barbados’ population relies on credit unions for daily savings and financial services.
“Credit unions represent the people’s institutions,” Jordan said. “The bill represented another step in recognising the importance and legitimacy of credit unions within the financial system. Offering protection to depositors in these institutions is another step in saying to those depositors, those owners of these institutions, the state sees you. The state understands that these are credible institutions. And the state is prepared to put systems in place that will further protect your investments in your institutions.”
Jordan acknowledged that some smaller credit unions have raised concerns about the cost of participating in the new insurance scheme, but argued that protecting ordinary depositors must take priority over institutional cost concerns. He emphasized that the bill targets exactly the demographic that has the most to lose from a credit union collapse: working people with modest savings who built the movement from the ground up. To support the launch of the scheme, the government has committed a $1.7 million contribution to the initial insurance fund, a investment Jordan said demonstrates the administration’s commitment to standing with working Barbadians and the community institutions they built.
“This investment says to the people of this country that we understand the role of the credit union movement, we recognise its importance, and we are prepared to allocate resources to make sure that the people of this country are protected,” Jordan said. Closing his address to the house, Jordan commended the bill to lawmakers and the public, reaffirming the government’s commitment to supporting institutions built by and for ordinary people. “We stand with the people. We stand with their institutions,” he said. “I commend this protection of depositors bill to this house and to this country.”