The Central Bank of Barbados published an article by Governor Kevin Greenidge assessing commercial bank pricing and profitability, concluding that sector earnings now depend materially on fees, foreign exchange dealing income and exceptionally low-cost deposit funding rather than lending alone. Using banks' returns to the central bank, the article says fees and commissions totaled BBD 152.6 million in 2025 and, together with dealing profits that were mostly foreign exchange income, reached BBD 238.9 million, exceeding the banking system's pre-tax profit of BBD 216.0 million. It also highlights that banks collected BBD 36.7 million in deposit service charges in 2025 while paying BBD 10.2 million in interest across all deposits, leaving depositors as a group paying banks BBD 26.5 million more than they received.
Central Bank of Barbados2026-07-18
Central Bank of Barbados examines banks' reliance on fees and cheap deposits, requires BiMPay fee schedules by 31 July 2026
The Central Bank of Barbados said commercial bank profitability in 2025 relied heavily on fees, foreign exchange income and very cheap deposits, with fees plus dealing profits exceeding the sector's pre-tax profit. The article links this to the 2015 removal of the minimum savings rate, which sharply reduced deposit interest without a comparable initial fall in lending yields. The Bank said fee schedules should be made comparable and that BiMPay participants must submit fee schedules by 31 July 2026 before any charges can be applied.