Banks must do better at communicating – Smith
Deputy Premier and Minister for Financial Services, Labour and Trade, Lorna Smith said banks must do better at communicating with their customers.
The banking sector has been accused by both the government and opposition of predatory practices and has been criticised for not doing enough to help locally-based customers.
Smith expressed previously that she felt that banks were simply not doing enough to facilitate loans for persons who were most in need and suggested that they need to be more generous.
But in a recent ‘Government in Motion’ broadcast, the Deputy Premier disclosed that she held a number of meetings with the banks to discuss how there could be more support for BVI-based customers.
Smith described the most recent meeting as excellent and said it focused on how they could do more to facilitate business development to help grow the economy.
“Clearly, there is much that our banks can do and offer, but they must be better at communicating with their customers,” she stated.
Smith offered support in the House of Assembly previously for Opposition Leader Ronnie Skelton’s view that banks were repossessing homes and businesses and giving advantageous arrangements to others in the process.
She promised at the time that the issue was a point that she would raise with the Bankers Association once she met with them again.
Meanwhile, the Minister also shared that she intends to convene a joint meeting before year-end with the Trade Department, banks and the Chamber of Commerce so that a new approach can be created to integrate support for the business sector.
“The entrepreneurial spirit of the BVI is second to none, but government must facilitate growth rather than appear to put roadblocks in the way. That is why labour and trade are a part of my ministry,” Smith stated.
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When the Bank say’s NO it’s difficult to translate in any other way than accepting the bank said NO.
DOES THAT INCLUDES THE BANK OF ASIA?
Bank charges are out of control. You used to be charged if you withdrew money from a different bank ATM. Now First Caribbean charges you even if you use the ATM where you have the account at. Would not be so bad if they gave good service but they have hardly any tellers working and provide a really poor service
More rhetoric. The BVI is a high risk jurisdiction for banks. They are carrying a high burden of non-performing loans and mortgages principally because our economy is in the toilet. Further the prime rate is the highest it has been in years. The cost of money is high and the risk of lending is high. Government is doing nothing to stimulate the economy or get any new investment or industry. We are slowly sliding down the economic drain.
The banks make a killing in the BVI which is a low tax jurisdiction with lots of cash floating in their vaults from foreign investors. They must be more generous.
Most BVI banks don’t accept accounts for people not resident in the BVI, so your statement is totally wrong.
BVI ISlanders who are not resident here can’t even open an account much less foreigners not resident in the BVI. Since Irma the banks were shook by what was thought to be good investments in real estate that due to our lack of construction standards were junk that were destroyed by the Hurricanes. The BVI banks have a large portfolio of underperforming and non performing loans, low rates of deposits, and high prime interest rate to deal with. They are regulated up the wazoo and can’t offer most of their profitable products in our jurisdiction. They can either charge high rates and stick to virtual service provision (local banks are basically post office boxes and secretarial services for head office) or leave the jurisdiction. Which one do you think serves us better?
Who put Luarna in the Corna to deal with banks on our behalf? Instead of speaking to banks’ nonexistent sense of “generosity”, the thing she should be speaking to is the savings interest rates, which despite an average of 4.2% by many banks in the US, is a mere 1% or less in the BVI. Is she incompetent or is it willful? She sounds stupid speaking to banks like a begger. We are in trouble if this is the best she has
can it also be because were tied to the US economy and can it be because there is no leader in the US that understands free markets?? whom ever it is, is asleep!!
Ha ha. Premiers Office, Immigration, Labour, GIS, Public Works, Water and Sewerage, Airports (no Info screens is some joke) etc etc need to do better at communicating.
Lorna “Vote for me I am with NDP!” needs to learn the difference between communicating and misinforming.
Think VI need to focus on what really needs fixing, Fix the poor leaders we have had for a very long time, not leading a country but leading themselves to prosperity. They clearly have a greater need for bank communications than the rest of us. Just maybe, once the banks are communicating, they can tell us where OUR Billions of Dollars are.
What nonsense, the money the banks are loaning out is not theirs but the money deposited by US the customers. What the government needs to do is tell them to have more personnel to take care of customers.