Barbados' CommercialBanks Condemned For Profiteering
It emerged recently thatcommercial banks in Barbados continue to levy what have been deemedunreasonable levels of fees and commissions on their customers,despite action taken by the Central Bank of Barbados last yearto reduce this type of activity.
In a statement releasedalmost a year ago, on August 21, 2001, the Central Bank announcedthat it had 'been concerned for some time about complaints fromthe public about the cost of services provided by the commercialbanks and has been analyzing the problem over the past few weeks'.
However, despite agreeingguidelines with the banks limiting the charges which can be levied,the recently released PricewaterhouseCoopers Barbados BankingIndustry 2001 Performance Highlights reveals that the jurisdiction'sseven commercial banks collected some $58 million in charges andfees last year, a 13% increase on the 2000 figures, not entirelyindicative of restraint.
According to the PwC report,only Barclays Bank and The Mutual Bank recorded reduced incomefrom fees and commission last year.