For more than a decade, the Barbados Co-operative & Credit Union League Limited consistently lobbied for one simple but important goal: deposit insurance protection for the thousands of Barbadians who entrust their savings to credit unions across the island.

This week, that persistence finally paid off with the passage of the Protection of Depositors Bill. It marked one of the most significant developments in the financial services industry in recent years, as Barbados joined a select group in the Caribbean Community with a sovereign-backed deposit protection mechanism, the others being the Bahamas and Trinidad and Tobago.

The legislation that was passed in the House is long-overdue recognition that credit union members deserve the same level of protection and confidence that bank customers have enjoyed for nearly two decades.