PNP wants banks to adhere to regulations
THE ruling People’s National Party (PNP) has called on the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Jamaica to ensure that financial institutions operate in the manner prescribed by the Acts governing their licences.
PNP chairman Robert Pickersgill, in a statement last Friday, said several recent incidents have raised questions about the confidentiality of banker/customer information, including reports from two PNP members that their private banking transactions have been related to them by persons not employed by their financial institutions.
Pickersgill said that in one instance a Jamaica Labour Party Member of Parliament was able to relate the details of a PNP Member of Parliament’s loan standing at a commercial Bank, and in the second instance, another party member was specifically told the contents (or lack thereof) in his bank account.
“Members in question have been urged to report these breaches to their respective financial institutions and demand immediate investigations and restitution,” said Pickersgill. He also urged them to report the matter in writing to the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Jamaica.
The PNP chairman’s statement came in light of the recent leak of banking information about a $31 million ‘donation’ to his party to an account named CCOC from Dutch oil trader Trafigura.
The leaked documents having being made public by Opposition Leader Bruce Golding, has led to the resignation of the PNP’s general secretary and Minister of Information and Development, Colin Campbell. Campbell was last Friday replaced in the Cabinet by Donald Buchanan.
According to Pickersgill, the recent incidents along with the confidentiality breaches at First Caribbean and First Global Banks involving the private banking information of CCOC Association and SW Services (Team Jamaica) ,could lead to an undermining of the confidence of the public in financial institutions.
“.The Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ), which have regulatory oversight for financial institutions, need to insist that regulations are adhered to and, where breaches occur, that the appropriate steps are taken to protect the individual customers and the overall confidence within that sector,” said the PNP chairman.