The Opposition is asking the Government to provide details of the intended purpose of “Strand Credit Finance Company Limited” – a UK company, which according to information available to the Opposition, appears to have common directors to Credit Finance Company Limited, the Gibraltar company that has received more than £307 million of savers’ money from the Gibraltar Savings Bank (“the GSB”) and has loaned over £30 million to the owners of the Sunborn Hotel.

It will be recalled that in July of his year, the Opposition had been questioning the Government as to the manner in which it was using the money of GSB debenture holders in order to fund Government projects.  The Government had done so by causing the GSB to invest over £307 million in a Gibraltar company called Credit Finance Company Limited, which in turn, was then lending money to private entities and also the management company of certain housing estates.  The loan to the Sunborn Hotel was only admitted to exist by the Chief Minister in an interview with the Chronicle a day after the by-election, despite repeated calls by the Opposition to come clean on the issue both in Parliament and outside it. 

In short, the Government attempted to keep the way in which it was effectively using GSB savers’ money to fund third party loans secret from the public.  This not only distorts public finances, because the Government does not need to borrow to undertake the same activity itself as it is effectively using savers’ money as a Government piggy bank, but also exposes Gibraltar plc to huge future repayments if some of these loans turn out to be bad investments.

The Opposition has now discovered that there appears to be a second company, this time incorporated in the United Kingdom, called Strand Credit Finance Company Limited, with Mr Ernest Gomez, the Chief Secretary, Mr D. D. Tirathdas, the Financial Secretary and Mr A. A. Poggio of the Gibraltar Office in London as its directors. Information available to the Opposition appears to indicate that the activity it undertakes is “financial intermediation”. The Opposition has no other information on this company as its enquiries continue.  However, it does seem a huge coincidence that another company with virtually the same name and with two of the same directors has been incorporated in the UK. Why?

A spokesman for the Opposition said: “We hope the Government is this time up front with the Opposition about this company. It must give a full and detailed account of the purpose and activities of this company both since it was incorporated and its intended use in future, including (but not limited to), a statement as to whether Strand Credit Finance Company Limited is involved as an intermediary in arranging any loans for third parties either through Credit Finance Company Limited in Gibraltar or otherwise and with what monies”.