The Development Bank of Jamaica’s (DBJ) role in providing development financing for the productive sector at below market rate aims to support Jamaica’s economic growth and development. Based on allegations regarding malpractice in the award of loans by the DBJ, I commissioned a special audit to assess the transparency of DBJ’s loan practices and whether any company or connected party benefitted disproportionately from the concessionary loans granted by the DBJ.

We saw no evidence to support the allegations of malpractice surrounding loan awards for the ICT/BPO sector. We identified variances in DBJ’s governance procedures, between the requirements of the Board approved Corporate Governance Framework for disclosure of conflicts of interest, and the observed actual practices by members of the DBJ Board. These variances, if left unresolved, will increase the perception of infringement on the Corporate Governance Framework, which will serve to undermine the integrity of DBJ’s operations. I therefore urge the DBJ to consider the recommendation contained in this report, in order that confidence may be maintained in the integrity of its operations.