Shortly before the debut of Sagicor Bank on our shores (It was already in Jamaica for a while first), the Daily Nation was looking at the almost negligent interest offered by most banks in the country. One officer told the Nation how it is a bank’s duty to provide charges it’s up to consumers if they wish to pay or some similar callous remark. My only wish was the Nation listed the officer’s name and which institution they’re from… A glaring mistake we at Bajan Reporter would gleefully correct, like putting Ronald Jones in his place about bursaries and his flip refence to burst arteries…

The banks despite competition, seek to impose new draconian measures even as they appear generous with Real Time Transfers which have been in the USA & Canada if not UK also from at least 2014 if not before… However, you still have to choose the option of an RTF rather than simply send money accordingly via whichever banking phone app you prefer.

How is it RBC (left them long time – first in 1992, they bounced a cheque once for being 10 cents short, yes, one thin dime) who shocked many Bajans (including me) acquiring RBTT that was Caribbean Commercial Bank and Chase Manhattan before that – is still allowed to enforce a $1.00 charge for every transaction? This is what I’m reading across Facebook by many disgruntled RBC users here, and why is RBC charging Barbadians $15 as an international exchange between Scotia ATM’s here and RBC debit Visas especially when tapping via chip?

There is no such pettiness between Scotia, FirstCaribbean and Sagicor – yet RBC is getting away with murderous financial charges? All others as far as I’m aware operate a standard $3.00 fee, maybe the time has come for the CBB to put forward a Request For Tender to develop an alternative to the erstwhile CARiFs, which prevented this Sherriff of Nottingham connivery from happening in the first place?

Once that’s out of the way? All CBB needs to do next is stop the foolish “Media Lock Up” of Press before the airing of each quarterly Economic Review via their streaming services, this was a staple under the aegis of Dr DeLisle Worrell, a notorious predecessor to Dr Greenidge. He was not fond of reporters apparently “ambushing” him with tough questions…

He would get annoyed when I asked how 400 million out of ForEx reserves between March and May 2014 rapidly dwindled and I was informed it’s of no great consequence… Shortly after that, I stopped going, the late Pat Hoyos of Broad St Journal repute had also ceased a fair bit before my hiatus too. Time for CBB to join the 21st Century and embrace transparency & accountability – “Media Lock Up” as the CBB circulars openly state, implies some form of censorship is a presiding factor for interaction between the CBB and the fourth estate. How healthy is that?