BOJ Governor Brian Wynter - JIS photo
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BOJ Governor Brian Wynter and Deputy Governor Dr. Wayne Robinson
The Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) has responded to criticism levelled at it earlier this month that it failed to protect the interests of customers of deposit taking institutions.
The criticism came from opposition Member of Parliament Fitz Jackson during debate in the House of Representatives on his now defunct Banking Services Bill.
Mr. Jackson also chided the central bank for failing to offer comments on his proposed piece of legislation.
However, Central Bank Governor Brian Wynter, who responded to queries at the bank's quarterly media briefing Wednesday morning, said the BOJ did not wish to get involved in the debate.
"We act on the basis of the law. We give advice with respect to policy when we're asked. I'm not part of, and the bank certainly would not want to be in the debate in Parliament between our sovereign authorities in determining what the laws of the land should be," he insisted.
He added: "We have opinions and I'm happy to share them in the proper format and discussion, but I'm not sure if you're maybe considering the question of whether the Bank of Jamaica should be a price regulator of fees. That's something that we would urge a lot of caution on."
Mr. Wynter said while price regulation exists in other sectors, the Bank of Jamaica has never been required to engage in such an activity.
"I'm making the point that we are not an economic regulator, we've not been one for a long long time... But I'm committed to providing the advice that we are required to when it comes up," he reiterated. "But what I do not want to do, and it would be wrong for me to do, is to be engaged in the controversy around this issue. We do not have a voice in this debate, we're not a part of it. We're a subject of it perhaps," said the BOJ governor.
Growth
Meanwhile, speaking at the BOJ's media briefing, Deputy Governor Dr. Wayne Robinson, said the Bank has seen growth in some sectors in the economy because of the expansion of credit.
"We've found that credit growth is important to economic growth. There are two components of credit growth, that is credit that goes to the various productive sectors, and we've certainly seen some correlation between credit growth to a number of these sectors and actual GDP or value added from these sectors. There is also indirect channel as well when credit goes to the householders who then will buy and consume and that also impacts economic growth as well," Mr. Robinson outlined.
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