Central Bank Governor Hector Valdez has warned that some banks have been engaging in irregularities by penalizing consumers with illegal charges and commissions. He said the charges were the banks’ way of compensating for a RD$5 million decline due to the reduction in interest rates on credit card financing. In October 2013, government authorities and the Association of Banks announced a “voluntary” agreement whereby the 7% rate would be lowered to 5.5% a month and then to 4.5% this year.
He said the Superintendence of Banks and the Central Bank have been investigating the case and warned the banks to cease these practices.
Furthermore, he said that the decision to increase the legal reserve by two points and remove RD$14 billion from circulation should not be taken as an excuse for the banks to increase lending by 2%. He said a study carried out by the Central Bank established that the increase should be no more than 0.5%.
http://www.bancentral.gov.do/notas_bc/2015/03/12/625/gobernador-valdez-albizu-dice-tasa-de-inters-activa-no-debera-subir-ms-de-05