Bank fees akin to highway robbery

THE EDITOR, Sir:

It was very disturbing to learn of the exorbitant fees that commercial banks are charging customers for various transactions. What is even more disturbing is that it would seem as if the regulatory bodies are doing very little about it.

The Bank of Jamaica has sought to create public awareness on these rates and fees, but while awareness is very good, so too would be curtailing the powers of commercial banks in this regard. Banks should not be allowed to impose whatever rates they want on their customers.

While I understand that banks need to make profits, they should not do so by exploitation. These excessive rates affect a wide cross section of customers, and as we all know, those that are affected the most are the majority - the poor.

Not only is it counterproductive, it is nothing short of robbery with aggravation. Banks need to realise that they rely on customers to remain in existence and should also be cognisant of the fact that they are not invincible - many have come and gone.

It is high time that we, as consumers, realise that we, too, have power, and we need to exercise that power by choosing to bank with financial institutions that are not only concerned with making billions of dollars in profits each year, but those that will really take us and our various situations into account.

I am, etc.,

IAN J. BLYTHE

ianjblythe@yahoo.com

Maryland, USA