After Clico's traditional portfolio is sold and transferred to the successful bidder, all that will remain to be done is resolution and settlement of amounts due and payable to other creditors and policyholders and disposal of its remaining assets, says Finance Minister Colm Imbert.
"This will be consistent with the published Clico Resolution Plan after which the company will cease to exist as an insurance company, " he explained following a meeting with the Central Bank and calls to shed light on the matter.
His statement came after officials of the United Policyholders Group (UPG) expressed concern about the Central Bank moving to "quietly" wind up Clico. Members of the group, who staged a protest demonstration outside the Central Bank on Wednesday, want bank officials to state whether they had started the bidding process for sale of Clico's traditional portfolio.
UPG spokesman, Angeli Gadjadar, said the group had received information that four companies were in the process of bidding on the issue.
The UPG wrote to the Central Bank and Imbert in recent months seeking information on the status of Clico, whether it is being wound up and how policyholders were being treated.
Gadjadar said Central Bank had admitted it had not applied to wind up the company but she maintained that "constructively that's what they are doing."
There was no reply to an e-mailed query to Central Bank on the issue but Imbert, who met with officials of the bank on Wednesday, told the T&T Guardian:
"The fact that the Central Bank intends to sell Clico's traditional insurance portfolio has been publicly announced by the Central Bank since March 2015.
"The CBTT published a statement in its website on November 6, 2015, where it announced that it had engaged the international firm of Oliver Wyman, a global management consulting firm with specialised expertise in corporate finance, economics and actuarial science, as its adviser to assist with the sale of Clico's traditional insurance portfolio. These facts have also been reported to the Parliament and the High Court.
"(So) It is not correct to say, that the CBTT 'quietly' started the bidding process today for the portfolio since this was publicly announced long ago.
"I am advised that in March 2016, three months ago, consistent with the published Clico Resolution Plan, the CBTT invited over 40 local, regional and international financial institutions to make offers to purchase Clico's traditional portfolio.
"The process didn't start "today", therefore. It should also be noted that Clico has not sold any new insurance business since 2014."
Imbert didn't respond to queries on who the possible bidders were.
UPG members said they would continue to stage demonstrations until they got responses from the Central Bank and Government.