Fed up with the inability to earn significant interest on savings at commercial banks, angry Bajans are turning to credit unions.
Over the past six months, with most commercial banks lowering the rate of interest on savings accounts to 0.05 per cent per annum, Barbadians have moved tens of millions of dollars.
But the rush to earn better interest rates, though making the credit unions more liquid and better able to offer loans at reasonable rates, has them with very little opportunity for investment because of the country’s precarious financial position.
“We have seen more than enough movement of money over to our credit union. Our lobbies can’t hold the people coming in to start new accounts,” Steve Belle, Chief Executive Officer of the City of Bridgetown Credit Union told the NATION in a recent interview.
“Since the banks reduced the interest rates, we have seen Barbadians bring tens of millions of dollars our way. The growth of deposits has been impressive,” Belle noted. (BA)
Please read the full story in the Sunday Sun, or in the eNATION edition.
