Javascript Menu by Deluxe-Menu.com

SKNBuzz Radio - Strictly Local Music Toon Center
My Account | Contact Us  

Our Partner For Official online store of the Phoenix Suns Jerseys

 Home  >  Headlines  >  NEWS
Posted: Saturday 21 May, 2016 at 10:42 PM

ECCB’s role is to regulate banking activities in Currency Union

ECCB
By: Jermine Abel, SKNVibes

    Basseterre, St. Kitts - WITH management of the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) offices in St. Kitts and Nevis still silent on the impending $25 bank charges, Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Timothy Harris has reminded that it is the responsibility of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) to regulate and supervise banking activities in the Federation and the sub-region.

     

    Responding to the governments position on the matter, the Office of the Prime Minister explained in a press statement that “governments within the region do not have any authority to regulate bank charges and fees”.

     

    The statement noted that it is a contractual agreement between the account holder and the financial institution to which they bank.

     

    Since Tuesday (May 17), policyholders received word through the proverbial ‘grapevine’ about an increase in bank fees that are expected to come into effect from Monday (May 23).

     

    This revelation caused a number of citizens and residents in both St. Kitts and Nevis to vent their frustration over the silence of the banking officials.

     

    It also resulted in long lines of customers gathering at both RBC and RBTT branches in the Federation and also in some of the other OECS territories either to close their accounts or withdraw their money.

     

    The Prime Minister’s statement indicated that governments in the region have been aware of the potentiality of increasing bank fees and charges since 2014 during the 80th Meeting of the ECCB Monetary Council.

     

    His statement revealed that a communiqué had stated that the Council had expressed concerns surrounding proposed commercial bank charges, which the members declared that “some action needed to be taken to address this matter”. 

     

    “My Government has been made aware that banking fees have now been increased and/or new fees introduced at some commercial banks operating within St. Kitts and Nevis and the wider Caribbean region. These increases and those proposed have led to unease among the population, and some customers are exercising their right to withdraw their funds.

     

    “The fee structures being proposed in St. Kitts and Nevis are similar to those also being proposed in other territories of the Caribbean, and customers in some of those jurisdictions have responded also with unease,” Prime Minister is quoted as saying. 

     

    During a recent media conference, Governor of the ECCB, Timothy Antoine disclosed that due to the low profitability margin, many of the financial institutions are looking to recoup and profit by adding on the service and savings accounts fees.

     

    “The fee issue is something that we are concerned about and I know that we have had discussions with the banks about that. Because of the non-performing loans their profitability is down, so they are trying to raise that profitability by charging these extra fees,” Antoine said.

     

    According to the Governor, banks are supposed to be making money and the current issue is how much they make.

     

    “At the moment, a lot of our banks are making less than they really need to make, so a lot of what you see with the fees are intended to raise their income so that they can improve their capital adequacy,” he explained.

     

    Many former local and regional bankers are of the view that the fee increases could be as a result of the Corresponding Banking Relations (CBR), which continues to affect the many offshore domestic banks in the Caribbean region.

     

    Many people, including a leading local economist, Dr. Everson Hull, have suggested that the CBR would have a direct impact on the region’s financial institutions.

     

    Dr. Hull was quoted in a local newspaper as saying that the fees for doing business at financial institutions are likely to rise while wiring monies would be made difficult.

     

    In an interview with a local media house, Antoine indicated that he had taken up the CBR matter with the United States Treasury when ECCB officials had visited Washington, DC back in April.  

     

    “They wanted to know more - is it really a threat or is it a reality? Are banks really being affected? So we gave them some examples...and we also indicated that we would provide some additional information.”

     

    Efforts were made by this publication to contact the Governor Antoine and his Deputy for a comment, but it was learnt that they were both off island conducting ECCB’s business.

     

    The Prime Minister, like the Governor, is also off island on government’s business in Taiwan. 

     

Copyright © 2024 SKNVibes, Inc. All rights reserved.
Privacy Policy   Terms of Service