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Industry, Investment, and Commerce Minister Senator Aubyn Hill
By Kimone Witter
The government, through the Minister of Industry, Investment, and Commerce, Senator Aubyn Hill has called for Jamaica's commercial banks to lower their lending interest rates in alignment with recent monetary policy adjustments by the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ).
A statement from the Office of the Prime Minister on Wednesday said this appeal aims to stimulate economic growth by making credit more accessible to businesses and consumers.
The OPM says Minister Hill's call aligns with recent appeals from members of the public and the private sector urging banks to respond to the BOJ's rate cuts.
The MSME Alliance has been particularly vocal about the burden the delayed rate adjustment places on micro, small and medium enterprises, which it says stifles their growth and hinders broader economic progress.
Addressing the matter at Wednesday's post-Cabinet media briefing, Minister Hill, a former banker, emphasised the importance of passing on the benefits of lower policy rates to the wider economy.
"Economic growth - which is what we have to do after we put our fiscal house in order - economic growth cannot happen with very high interest rates. It's in the banks' interest, it's in ordinary Jamaicans' interest who would pay less interest, it's in business interest that the bank lending rates come down as quickly as they can. Of course, banks have to run their business. We want to make sure that they're profitable, but the central bank has indicated that the non-performing loans of the bank is about 2.4 per cent. That's a very, very acceptable number. So we know we're not pressuring the banks to go and make bad loans...but we need to make sure that we get those rates down," he urged.
The BOJ lowered its policy rate by 25 basis points to 6% per year on December 23. This was the fourth consecutive rate reduction for the year.
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