The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) is moving to establish an Office of Financial Conduct and Inclusion to address growing concerns about high banking fees across the currency union.
ECCB Governor Timothy Antoine announced the initiative during a Financial Inclusion Town Hall meeting in St. Kitts and Nevis, where members of the public raised complaints about varying fees for banking services ranging from zero to $65 for incoming transfers between Caribbean countries.
Currently, a majority of ECCU member states only allow the ECCB to inquire into whether banks have provided 30 days’ notice to customers before implementing fee changes under existing Banking Act provisions.
“We have heard a lot of complaints about high fees and charges. And what we have said is that there has to be a way to adjudicate some of these complaints in a fair manner, both to the customer and the financial institution,” Antoine told the town hall audience.
The new office will be empowered to approve or reject bank fees and investigate customer complaints about banking transactions, marking a significant expansion of the central bank’s regulatory authority.
“What that simply means is that right now under the Banking Act, the Central Bank does not have the powers to approve fees or not approve fees. All the Banking Act gives the Central Bank the power to do is to say, ask the question, ‘have you given adequate notice to the customer?’ And in the law, adequate notice is 30 days,” Antoine explained.
In April, Antigua and Barbuda passed amendments to the Banking Act with political leaders from both sides criticizing the exorbitant fees of banks in the region.
St Vincent and the Grenadines has also passed similar amendments to enable the new regulatory framework.
The governor emphasized that financial inclusion requires services that are “affordable, fair, and transparent”, noting that the current system often leaves customers confused about fee structures across different banks.
“Banks have different business models,” Antoine said, acknowledging that institutions operate with varying cost structures.
However, he stressed that the Central Bank would work to ensure fairness while being “reasonable” in its approach.
Antoine noted that customers currently have access to fee information through the ECCB website, which displays side-by-side comparisons of fees charged by various financial institutions in each country.
The establishment of the office represents what Antoine described as “financial consumer protection”, ensuring that the financial system serves all citizens except those engaged in illicit activities.
Amendments to enable the new office are expected to be introduced in other ECCU territories in the coming months, though no specific timeline was provided for when the office will become fully operational.
