Ministry wants more bank fee oversight
Banks could be prevented from hiking fees without government approval under proposed rules that would give the Minister of Finance broad new oversight of charges to consumers and local businesses.
The Bermuda Monetary Authority has launched a consultation on regulations that would require banks to get ministerial clearance before making changes to certain charges.
The initial “specified fees” would be account-maintenance and over-the-limit fees, although the minister could add other categories.
Banks who want to introduce or increase one of those fees would have to explain the commercial rationale, identify the customers affected and describe any alternative service they offer.
They would also have to estimate the revenue to be generated by the fee and calculate the costs and risks.
The minister would ordinarily have 45 business days to consider the application. A formal objection would prevent the bank from proceeding.
Specified fees already in place would not be grandfathered and could be reviewed after the regulations came into effect. The minister could examine an existing charge considered unreasonable. The proposals would also require banks to submit an annual schedule of fees so the BMA could consider the cost and risks of providing the service, the effect on customers, the transparency and comparability of banks’ disclosures and prevailing market conditions in Bermuda.
Penalties under the proposed regulations would not exceed $10,000.
The proposals represent another step in implementing legislation passed in 2022 that expanded the BMA’s consumer-protection mandate and gave the Minister of Finance power to regulate bank fees, charges and penalties.
The Government first exercised that power through regulations on over-the-limit and unauthorised-overdraft fees, which took effect in September 2025.
During the 2022 parliamentary debate, David Burt, the Premier and finance minister, said some bank charges in Bermuda were “outside of global norms”.
The Government first exercised the fee-regulation power through rules covering over-the-limit and unauthorised-overdraft charges, which took effect in September 2025.
The BMA said the latest proposals followed concerns about the number and scale of bank fees.
Consultation responses can be submitted to policy@bma.bm until September 22.
In a separate consultation published the same day, the BMA proposed requiring licensed banks to offer fee-free basic bank accounts to eligible Bermuda residents who do not already hold a standard account.
The Bermuda-dollar accounts would have no minimum-balance requirement, transaction limit or balance cap. They would permit deposits, withdrawals, cheque processing, online banking, debit-card purchases and domestic payments, with no maintenance, compliance or transaction fees for those services.
The accounts would not offer overdrafts, credit cards, foreign-exchange services or international wire transfers. Customers would still be subject to anti-money-laundering and know-your-customer checks, while banks would have six months after the measures took effect to introduce the product.
• See the BMA’s bank fee consultation paper in Related Media
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