The Independent Consumer and Competition Commission (ICCC) has called on Bank South Pacific to remove some fees and reduce interest rates to encourage a savings culture.
ICCC Commissioner and CEO, Paulus Ain, said this following the announcement of BSP’s 2017 financial results of its income to increase by K1.99 billion and its assets to increase by K22.4 billion
In a statement, Ain said over the years BSP has recorded considerable profits and has done so again for the 2017 financial period despite a very challenging economic and business climate.
He said whilst there are many areas that contribute to this performance, it is their view that the high interest rates on loans, bank fees and charges may have played a significant part in the above market performance over the years.
“As the consumer watchdog, the ICCC is empowered under section 6, 104, and 105 of the ICCC Act to represent the interests of consumers who are directly or indirectly affected by the goods or services provided by the businesses, in this case, the Bank South Pacific,” Ain said.
Commissioner Ain said for years, consumers have been complaining about increased bank fees and charges applied by BSP, including high interest loan rates, but the Bank has given minimal attention to these complaints as consumers savings gets deducted until their account is red or empty.
“How can we encourage Papua New Guineans to have a savings culture when the banks continue to deduct their very savings in their accounts, this is unfair to the customers,” Ain said.
“This is commercial theft or robbery on the consumers and denying them the opportunity to make reasonable savings.”
Commissioner Ain said it would be fair to share some of these positive returns with the struggling consumers of PNG by removing some of these fees and charges and also reducing the interest rates so the clients can enjoy the benefits together.