The Central Bank should take over the keys and run the Bank as this is a critical part of our banking system.

Impossible. How can a politician intervene at this last stage of having a strike poll when they would have had endless opportunities to mediate prior to this? Politicians are usually business persons and have as allies other persons from the business community. Who would really be looking out for the Bahamian workers after the large foreign or Bahamian companies in the Bahamas deprive them of their rights? No Bahamian worker should be deprived of their rights and have govt avenues or union avenues to settle the conflict for it to even reach this stage! Either the Union should be fired for poor representation or the or the minister should fire the representatives in the govt. for not resolving the issue before it gets to any strike vote.

In many ways that is true because Bahamians unlike Americans are not quite accustomed to filling out 1040 US TAX forms or deal with other investmentsREIT etcetc on a yearly basis to account for their incones, tax crefuns etc. In many cases Bahamian Mortgagors almost always complets a half filled Budget assessment form within a few minutes hurridly during their 1 hour lunch break to qualify for a mortgage with the bank more concerned with the applicant meeting their TDSR total debt service ratio including often missing out monthly loan payments to 'qualify' and perhaps encouraged by a loan officer. Loan officers must give out a volume of mortgages to get a favourable staff assessment report. There is noone to 'educate' the borrowers who are at the mercy of the banks controlled by foreign headoffices and decision making officers many of whom who ave never set foot in the Bahamas. Incredible this nonsense has continued and the Bahamas having the most Caribbean bad debts. Bahamian banks never lose because bad debts are lodged in legal judgements in the records even after the house is repossessed and sold and there is a shortfall. Absolutely incredible that Bahamian mortgagors are not more protected from these banks and their policies and more worse wannabee politicians seem to have no clue or interest in protecting bank customers. Why.

Excellent that efforts are being made to investigate. The million dollar Canadian investigation report done on the Bank of the Bahamas must be published. Former Prime Minister Ingraham did have a Commission called to investigate land deals where persons got Exuma beachfront land for a few thousand dollars for retirement and then resold it for hundreds of thousands more or the married couple who both got separate Abaco lots for retirement homes. While the chances of going up against the Bank of the Bahamas is slim given the cronyism and seemingly politically appointed Directors we must remember all those many patriotic loyal Bahamians who chose to invest in their own and lost their pension investment funds etc this must not go unpunished. We are not prepared to live in a NAZI Germany where evil prevails. If the volumes of evidence which exists is brought to light persons must be punished and jail time for them. While the persons at the meeting may have credible views it shows that people are just fed up and as others willing to stand up. Wrong is wrong and 3,500 to 4,000 shareholders cannot be ignored.

That being your assertion, what have anyone done to cause an investigation public, private, Town Hall or otherwise to investigate the some 4,000 defaulted mortgages affecting husbands, wives, children parents living in these homes who are going through hell? They would have lost their investments, had legal Judgements registered against them preventing them from borrowing until they repaid debt, no positive Credit Reference to give to any agency requesting it for their children to go abroad or any financial agencies. Country's economy had almost a billion dollars in collateral tied up, real estate prices with a glut , remaining businesses offering property as collateral questioned etcetcetc. Loans need to be investigated and where fraud is proven persons must be held responsible for these bad loans. Absolutely no excuse starting with the Bank of the Bahamas which is a majority owned bank. If you cannot deal with this small institution it is pointless to ask anyone to seek to be elected to manage an 8 billion dollar Bahamian economy.

Always an advocate for the protection of consumers and this legislation is long overdue to protect Bahamians from the over excesses of bank policies from outside the Bahamas by bank officials who presume to know our economy, culture and Bahamian consumers better than ourselves. The rape of our Bahamian sweat and hardwork and concessions of our birthright in building empires for foreign companies and to see these wind up outside the Bahamas creating jobs in other countries must be checked. The mortgage accounts of some defaulted 4,000 customers need to be examined to see whether customers were really given a fair chance at repaying and success as these banks were at the same time placing 'targets' of mortgages to give out by their employees so that they can gain bonuses and get a favourable Staff assessment report so that they can get their staff increments. Where fraud is proven Bankers should go to jail and these Banks penalized with fines.

Simple. While the Minister has been very proactive within her area there have been other areas and challenges. For instance the Central Bank has apparently allowed the Bank of the Bahamas to operate for years without meeting the world wide ability of meeting its Tier ratios and still compete against universally recognized Banks doing so, plus the govt support as listed at the end of the auditors report to support for the next 12 months or more. At persons responsible for this continued fiasco should be removed. Continued drawings of support from the govt pool to prop it up and lessen funds for other areas requiring immediate assistance of these same funds is of concern and should at least have persons responsible removed. Given the hair trigger response in modern times and with the relations with correspondent banks is worrisome as proven by the almost sudden drop in share prices from some $5 to less than $2 on a BISX share market with billions of dollars also traded by other local businesses. We could go on all day but the Bank of the Bahamas is a situation that has been going on for years and still needs some 40 million more from the bonds placement which of course lessens liquid funds from other investments and impacting growth in other areas. The Banks venture into increasing market share by giving out Consolidation loans is of concern as every loan officer will tell that after consolidating loans for alpha type customers they usually do the same thing again all over again and of course every oher bank will be happy to direct their customers needing consolidation loans there, more worries. Its about time someone pointed this out.

Correcting myself in that an eastern European man was charged some time ago with some money laundering, a COB employee was charged with money laundering some figure shy of a million dollars through some 4 local banks however cannot recall whether those bank employees or the Banks involved were ever charged for accepting the funds despite such much published anti money laundering and Compliance regulation by the Banking industry.

It appears that crimes may not be reported simply because of the seemingly futility of getting justice done quickly given the four escape routes and a friend pointed out of wasting more time just back and forth is not worth it. The four escape routes would not exist or even have to come to the level especially to the level of new Public Defender having to represent if there was common sense or fair play in many govt involved entities like the Bank of the Bahamas if there was some recourse. Years the BOB shares were not actively traded and noone investigated, share prices dropped from some $5 to less than $2 dollars ard no investigations, no Directors to represent the minority shareholers etc. Victims of white collar crimes, fraud are usually broke not able to hire lawyers who in almost all cases point out that in talking to victims would point out that they will not get any future business going up against any Bank. Of course if the lawyer is dropped from one of the Banks as an Approved Lawyer then shortly the other Banks will know it. The Central Bank will tell the victim that they deal with Bank to Bank issues and to get a lawyer. Agencies the victim could go to of course are funded by the govt. It appears that white collar crime is not addressed as sufficiently as protection for the accused murders or shoplifters who steal a can of sardines. An independent Ombudsman should have also been engaged to deal especially with white collar crime and bankers, clerks, white collar criminals should also be addressed and should face jail time just as the common criminal. Given the pressures our Financial Industry faces it appears that noone in our history has yet committed any white collar crime but our jails are filled by common thieves. Bad loans should be investigated as the some 4,000 defaulted mortgages of some almost a billion dollars did not all happen by themselves and where Banks or its officers are found to have done wrong then punishments and jail time should apply like in the US.

Also worry about the banks putting booklets of 'repossessed houses' for sale in the papers causing everybody's house on the same block to drop in value and those who struggling to keep their head above water going down also. Check the mortgage loan balance people still paying as their houses drop in value and realise all the hard work people struggle over the years to invest an leave something for their children drop in value. Investigate all the marginal loans the banks gave at 90-95 % financing and see whether the customers really had a chance. Look overall to see whether the customers had a fair chance to repay with the balance of the income after the 45% debt service ratio.