Banks will have to step up efforts to spur economic growth — financial analyst

Financial analyst Ralston Hyman says Jamaica’s banks will have to step up to spur economic growth in light of the budget tabled by the Government.

Hyman notes that with 70 per cent of the budget going to wages, debt servicing and other recurrent expenditure, the government will have too little to spend on capital projects to drive growth.

Hyman argues that given the deficient capital spending by the government, the banks will have to pick up the slack.

He says they can do this by giving more loans to businesses, noting that up to September last year, loans accounted for only about 47 per cent of the total banking assets.

The role of the banking sector has been under examination in the wake of efforts in the Parliament to curtail the fees banks charge customers for certain services.

The banks have been criticised for seeking to earn from fees instead of investments and loans.