THE Citizens Alliance is calling on Legal Affairs Minister, Camille Robinson Regis, to take the proposed "Truth in Lending Legislation" to the public for comment. The party said that this would be the only way for the Government to really become aware of the kind of concerns being expressed by customers of commercial banks.

In a release issued yesterday the party said that if the Government was serious about probing commercial banks, such legislation must be put out for public comment in order to have comprehensive legislation to take to the Parliament. "Government must know what the concerns are exactly before they attempt to legislate," CA stated.

Agreeing with the suggestion of a probe into commercial banks, the party said: "A probe into bank charges ought not to just be about charges levied for services carried out on behalf of utility companies as there is a level of discretion on the part of the client. A probe should include a comprehensive look at charges for loans, over the counter transactions, ATM use, card use, tele-services use and others."

"Many people have been complaining about what they term unfair charges for simple transactions at commercial banks. They have also expressed concern and in some cases, outrage over the disparity in advertised and actual costs of borrowing, legal fees for processing loans and insurance which they are requested to purchase from organisations of the bank's choice," the party stated.

"While we think that the Government has made a move in the right direction, we would advise that any investigation into the rationale behind the various bank charges must be very comprehensive. To a very large extent, while some of the charges may be found to be unfair, we have found that, most of all, people want the banks to be straight with them."

The party said that greater transparency in banking operations would certainly add to a much more amicable approach to resolving concerns of the thousands of people who purchase commercial bank services and products.

"People we have spoken too have said that among the greatest concerns are the legal aspects of loan processing and the insurance that they are asked to purchase when they take loans. In addition to the feeling that charges are much to high, people feel that they should be able to use their discretion in finding legal representatives and in choosing insurance companies," the release stated.

CITIZENS ALLIANCE - Building together for a more progressive Trinidad and Tobago.