MSME Alliance Calls For Gov’t to Pressure Banks to Lower Interest Rates

The Medium Small and Micro Enterprises Alliance is calling on the government to pressure the nation’s two largest commercial banks to bring interest rates down.

In tandem with that, the alliance is rejecting the Bank of Jamaica Governor Richard Byles’ words of caution to those advocating for strong action against financial institutions that refuse to lower lending rates.

President Antoinette Hamilton says she has proof of the self-serving actions taken by banks which demand a response from both the Government and the BOJ.

Chevon Campbell tells us more.

The Bank of Jamaica has halted further reductions in interest rates as it tries to make sense of the fallout caused by the shifting policies of the new US administration.

While Ms. Hamilton has accepted that as the prudent stance, she argues that the BOJ should now strive to have financial institutions bring down their rates in the interest of customers.

BOJ Governor, Richard Byles, has called for a more objective measure of how banks have managed interest rates.

While he believes there is some room for relief for customers, he argues that the reluctance of financial institutions is not without merit.

The Governor also dismissed calls for him to take direct action to bring the rates down.

But Ms. Hamilton says she has direct evidence of commercial banks taking advantage of the situation at the expense of customers.

She also believes there is more the government can do beyond moral suasion, such as diversifying its accounts away from the nation’s two main commercial banks.

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