The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A SENIOR Bahamian banker yesterday asserted the Central Bank’s semi-annual survey of commercial bank fees is “telling only half the story” after the latest report revealed some customer categories suffered 20 percent-plus increases during the 2025 second half.

Gowon Bowe, Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) chief executive, told Tribune Business that the survey - which compares the fees levied on customers by this nation’s commercial banks - “needs to look at the other side of the coin” and examine the ever-increasing costs that impose pressure on the industry to raise these charges.

Asserting that equal focus on bank expenses is required to keep the survey “meaningful”, he argued that its present format threatens to “create a combustible situation between banks and their customers” by failing to put fee increases in context and analyse the costs that may be driving any rises. Mr Bowe spoke out after the Central Bank, unveiling its fee survey for end-December 2025, revealed that charges had “firmed” compared to the two previous reports released for December 2024 and June 2025. In particular, it noted that the average monthly cost for a student savings account operated digitally had increased by 22.4 percent in the six months since end-June 2025, while the average cost of manually-administered adult chequing accounts rose by 21.3 percent over the same period.

However, in both cases, the actual dollar amount of the increase was small - from $2.77 to $3.39 for a student savings account handled digitally, and from $10.23 to $11.05 for an adult chequing account. The Central Bank also pledged to soon release its proposed guidance to all Bahamian commercial bank licensees on the introduction of so-called ‘basic bank’ accounts designed to improve financial services access for lower income persons by offering facilities with reduced charges.

Mr Bowe, after reading the survey, reiterated his concern that the findings being presented are incomplete because they ignore the underlying costs that Bahamian commercial banks incur in providing services. “It is telling only half of the story,” he told Tribune Business. “By that I mean it us looking at the fees being charged but not putting up the commensurate expenses that are taking place.”

Suggesting that the banks are being “villainised”, Mr Bowe added: “It will leave with the average consumer that we are seeing a 20 percent increase in bank fees…. I think if the survey is to be, or continue to be, meaningful and avoid creating combustible situations, it needs to look at the other side of the coin and see what costs are increasing with the banks.

“Expenses are increasing, and just as with any business, if your inputs are increasing, unfortunately prices are increasing as well.” Mr Bowe said Bahamian commercial banks are all facing increases in expense items such as employee salaries, electricity and information technology (IT) security.

The Central Bank, in its survey report for December 2025, asserted: “On a case-by-case basis, average charges on constructed customer profiles have firmed since both the June 2025 and December 2024 survey….

“As to policy developments, during the coming weeks the Central Bank will advance to public consultation on the proposed guidance to banks for the introduction of basic banking or transactional accounts. This will broaden affordable access across all depositor profiles for individuals of reduced economic means, as the facilities are proposed to be provided for individuals with annual earnings up to the current minimum wage level for The Bahamas.”

The survey was based on three customers - a student with under $300 in their account, who conducts two transactions per month; a senior citizen receiving pension income, and who also performs two transactions per month with an account balance of less than $400; and the same two individuals who possess savings and chequing accounts with balances between $500 and $1,000.

“Compared with both June 2025 and the December 2024 periods, domestic banks’ average total monthly surcharges for digital services have increased, with three of the four scenario estimates across commercial banks indicating higher average fee totals,” the Central Bank found. “An increase in cost was observed within the student, adult chequing and adult savings scenarios.

“Overall, the average monthly cost of maintaining adult chequing account services remains the costliest, while adult savings accounts are the second most costly. Student accounts, on average, receive the most concessions, followed by retiree accounts. Therefore, these accounts are the least costly.

“Within these ranges a customer profile utilising the maximum digital or electronic service options would face average monthly fees of between $3.39 to $18.03, according to the December 2025 fee averages. This contrasts with the estimate cost in the range of $2.77 to $16.92 in the previous six months, and a range of $2.65 to $ 16.49 one year prior,” the banking regulator continued.

“When analysed by scenario, the average monthly cost of a student savings account has increased by 22.4 percent from $2.77 in June 2025 to $3.39 in December 2025. The average monthly cost of maintaining a retiree savings account rose by 7.7 percent from $4.18 to $4.50. Moreover, adult chequing and adult savings accounts experienced fee increases of 6.5 percent and 7.2 percent, respectively over the six-month period.”

Turning to manual or in-branch, physical banking, the Central Bank said: “Customers who rely heavily on physical banking service channels persistently incur higher monthly costs across the four scenarios, also registering firming on average since the second half of 2024.

“Using paper-based channels to access financial services in December 2025 would have resulted in average monthly rates ranging from $11.05 to $33.50, compared with $10.23 to $27.61 in June 2025 and $9.72 to $27.01 in the last half of 2024. For these, retiree accounts were, on average, the least expensive to maintain, whereas adult chequing accounts were the most costly.

“The average monthly cost of maintaining a student account has increased by 10.2 percent - from $10.78 in June 2025 to $11.88 in December 2025. For retiree chequing accounts, average fees increased by 8.1 percent - from $10.23 to $11.05,” the banking regulator added.

“The average cost of adult chequing accounts increased the most between June 2025 and December 2025 - by 21.3 percent, whereas the average cost of adult savings accounts increased by 6.2 percent. Compared to 2024, student account maintenance fees firmed by 12.7 percent; retirees, by 13.7 percent; and adult chequing facilities, by 5.9 percent.”

The Central Bank said transaction costs for Bahamian consumers are lower for digital banking when compared to the manual variety. “The Central Bank's survey and assessment of commercial banking fees reveal that prices continue to differ greatly across financial institutions, particularly for transactions involving deposit account administration and credit service maintenance,” it added.

“However, there was a firming in transactions and maintenance costs compared both to the previous six months and the previous year. A customer's ability to perform transactions digitally significantly reduces expenses when compared to greater reliance on physical or paper delivery channels. Banks continued to provide concessionary rates for senior citizens and youth clients.

“However, bank rankings differ depending on the threshold volumes or transaction values. Further limitations apply to such comparisons, as client choice between institutions is not always unrestricted. In addition, customer access to and understanding of technology can often impede the quality of their experience when compared to digital channels.”