The blogmaster read Marsha Hinds-Layne’s recent column of August 30, 2018 with some interest – Calling the banks to account. Although she is promoted on the article as the PRO of the National Organization of Women (NOW), for the purpose of this blog the blogmaster prefers to tag as a former Barbados Labour Party (BLP) candidate.
Why the association with the ruling BLP?
The content of the article gives an insight into a conversation that is probably taking place on Bay Street. How does the government pressure commercial banks to sacrifice enormous profits in order to contribute to the recovery effort to rescue Barbados. It is no secret that across the globe the banking industry is a powerful sector and wields enormous influence with governments.
By coincidence this week the blogmaster was researching a matter (let Google be your friend) and stumbled on the following article posted to the People’s Empowerment Party website on the 26 January 2011 that is as relevant today as it was then.
IMPLICATIONS OF THE JOHN BEALE EXPOSE
The Nation Newspaper of 20th January 2011 featured an interview with Mr John Beale, the former President and Chief Executive Officer of RBTT Bank (Barbados) Ltd and Barbados’ current Ambassador in Washington D.C, in which he described the process through which banks in Barbados impose bank fees and other charges on their Barbadian customers.
Mr Beale’s reported words were as follows:-
“For example, every year a bank would sit down with their directors and their managers and they may say: ‘We made $1 million last year, we must make $1.1 million this year, where is it coming from?’ The guy may say the loans are not as many as we had in the past, and then somebody comes up with the bright idea – ‘let’s make some extra fees’, they go straight to bottom line, there is no cost to it. Someone may ask ‘how can we do that?’ The answer would be ‘Let’s tack on a $5 fee here or something and across the board that would give us another $200,000”.The Barbadian people should read this statement over and over again, and let it sink into their consciousness! Many of us suspected that our banks were unreasonably and exploitatively imposing bank fees and charges on us, and now we have express confirmation from a man who functioned at the highest level of the banking fraternity!Read full article – Implications of the John Beale Expose
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