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And returning now to yesterday's coverage of the Central Bank of Belize quarterly press conference….as we told you last night, the bank has given the banks a directive that they have to cut or zero-rate their ATM fees and other nuisance fees.
The ATM fees have to do with the Belize Bank - which charges depositors 50 cents to access their own money. The bank has limited that to 25 cents per transactions and hopes to push it to no cents in time.
But, it was a tough negotiation - and yesterday the Governor was asked to characterize how difficult it was and he said he could write a book:
Kareem Michael, Governor, Central Bank
"In terms of individuals banks, from the onset, were there any significant pushback to these fees?"
"Bwai, dat da wah, dat da wah….I don't know, I think I should write a book on how this happened."
"Yes and no. I…there were moments which immediately after our first meeting that we could get this done and then others, which I thought that we couldn't. And I'll leave my response there."
"Were there any considerations given to how this would affect the banking sector, or if this will lead to the reduction of ATM services across the country."
"That one I don't quite understand. I think the case or justification for that is weak, but I please don't let me say more on it. Let me stop."
"As was mentioned earlier, you know, banks are there to make money. Could then they look at other areas where they would increase fees?"
"Yeah, that's one of the things that I had commented on before. And maybe my choice of words was strong. But every time you try to put in a ceiling or a floor or restriction in a market that is supposed to be driven by competition, you will have or it's likely that you have negative consequences."
"That is a concern for us that it may be passed on, but look at the fees which we targeted. It is largely speaking to a vulnerable, marginalized segment. For every withdrawal, if you add, if you make four withdrawals for a month, that is a loaf of bread. That's, that's pretty harsh. So these things we have to take into a context. What we have implemented certainly will not bring any bank to its knees."
