After regulators’ surprise announcement on May 29 that they had begun winding down the Bank of Asia, we urged leaders to be fully transparent about the crisis by keeping the public informed at every step of the way.
Since then, many leaders and government agencies have fallen far short in this regard, but one has dropped the ball in a particularly big way.
The Virgin Islands Deposit Insurance Corporation, which triggered the enforcement action in the first place, has left the public completely in the dark about its own leadership.
A week after the winding-down was announced, a media report suggested that then-VIDIC CEO Lisa Violet had tendered her resignation.
As such a sensitive time, this allegation was extremely troubling, and it should have been addressed publicly within a day.
Nearly a month later, the public is still waiting.
Since the report, the VIDIC, its board, the government, the Financial Services Commission and other officials have refused to say if Ms. Violet resigned — or even to confirm who is currently in charge at the important agency.
Instead, clues have trickled out online.
Ms. Violet’s LinkedIn page, for instance, changed to say that her employment had ended last month. Then on Friday, the VIDIC advertised for a new CEO.
It would seem, then, that Ms. Violet — whose resumé includes more than 25 years of international banking experience — is no longer in charge.
But her apparent departure after about a year in the position leaves many questions unanswered.
Who is in charge at the VIDIC? Was there a major upheaval at the agency associated with the Bank of Asia decision? Did the CEO resign? Was she forced out?
Is the VIDIC being permitted to operate independently according to its mandate? Is it facing political pressure?
Did the VIDIC err in triggering the winding-down? What is the way forward for the agency? Is it even in a position to continue what it started?
The public deserves answers to such questions.
A leader’s sudden exit from such an important agency would be cause for concern at the best of times.
But now — coming so soon after the VIDIC triggered the Bank of Asia winding-down — it is a glaring red flag that is impossible to ignore.
The VIDIC was created to build public trust in VI banks. In that regard, it is failing at a crucial time.
