Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Chairman Fred Mitchell said yesterday he is lobbying the government to address the “deterioration” of banking services in Family Island communities.
“The banking situation in our country, despite newspaper headlines and individual consumer protests and central bank surveys and people in the industry saying it isn’t so, there continues to be a deterioration in the banking services in our country,” Mitchell said.
“Again, I shall be lobbying the government to do something about it and to bring relief to Family Island customers, in particular. Enough is enough.”
Mitchell has on several occasions spoken out about commercial banks’ departure from some islands and the continued reduction in the level of services offered.
Most recently, Bank of The Bahamas announced that it will scale back its operations on Andros, raising concern among many.
Mangrove Cay, Central and South Andros MP Leon Lundy decried the decision and said he was meeting with the bank’s representatives on the issue with the hope of reaching a better arrangement for his constituents.
Free National Movement (FNM) Leader Michael Pintard has also repeatedly urged reforms of the country’s commercial banking sector, highlighting the challenges for unbanked islands. He has also accused members of the Davis administration of only caring about the issue when it impacts them personally.
The trend, however, of islands being left without adequate banking services has been ongoing for several years now. Notably, all of Long Island’s banks, which were RBC and Scotia, closed during the last FNM administration, and the island has yet to see a commercial bank return.
Crooked Island, Acklins and Mayaguana are among the other islands without commercial banks.
