Republic Bank is Staying the Course

Republic Bank Inc. July 25, 2019 – Republic Bank as a prudent financial institution is charged with the responsibility of protecting the deposits of our valued customers. The World has been undergoing an economic recession for some time now and Barbados is no exception.

In light of the above the government of Barbados has implemented an economic reformation program called The Barbados Economic Recovery and Transformation Programme, also known by the acronym BERT.

The implementation of the BERT program has caused a crippling effect on some businesses and we were therefore forced to make some internal alterations to our lending policy. This decision was taken for the protection of our customer’s deposits as well as to mitigate further risk to us as a financial institution, in light of the escalation of our delinquency portfolio which we are grappling to bring under control.

The BERT program has seen government had to take the tough decision to retrench thousands of employees, many of whom are our valued customers. We have invited them to come in and discuss with their lending Officers amicable ways to service and manage their existing debt. The Bank has been empathic with our customers some of whom were employed in full-time roles in government and the private sector in some cases for significant length of tenure. Republic Bank does not discriminate against any class of customers in any sector but rather all customer applications are assessed on a case by case basis and the usual lending criteria applies.

Customer’s debt service ratio is always taken into consideration and should be not higher than 40% as we encourage our customers not to over extend themselves. The customer’s tenure of employment is also of importance as he/she must be appointed in a full-time position and working not less than 2 consecutive years at the same institution. The institution should be a reputable and well established business.

The customer’s income and expenses are to be fully disclosed so that the application may be accurately assessed.

If declined, it is the banks practice to explain the reason(s) why the application has been denied.

Republic bank has long established a reputation for being the Bank of the people for the people and we stand firmly by our reputation. We empathise with customers across Barbados who have all been affected economical and assure you that we will continue do all within our power to assist you during this difficult time.

Republic Bank! We’re the one for you!