Radio talk show host Douglas Wheatley believes that the various governments of the Virgin Islands should have dealt more strongly with the question of deposit insurance for banks operating here. Photo: VINO/File

He made the comment on his 3D show aired on ZBVI 780 AM on Friday August 21, 2015. His comment was in response to a caller to the show who wanted to know what would happen to depositors' funds should a bank experience difficulties and is forced to cease operations. Photo: Internet Source

He made the comment on his 3D show aired on ZBVI 780 AM on Friday August 21, 2015. His comment was in response to a caller to the show who wanted to know what would happen to depositors' funds should a bank experience difficulties and is forced to cease operations.

“Suppose one of these days [one of these banks] say they close their door, what would happen to the people’s money? I remember one of these banks in the BVI went bankrupt and went down and a lot of people lost their money,” said the caller.

“My question is how secure is the people’s money in case of something like that happening?” the caller asked.

Governments failed to challenge banks

"One of the things I would say is that I feel that over the many years all of the governments in the BVI did not take on those multinational, multilateral banks at all. I think to me we were so happy to have the banks in the country that we felt we couldn't challenge them on behalf of the people to get the best of services," said Wheatley.

"So the banks were doing a lot of things which they should not have been allowed to do and I think that the question of insurance should have been tackled years and years ago," he said.

According to Wheatley, he could recall some years ago efforts being made to get the deposits secured under the Federal Deposits Insurance of the United States where in the event of a crisis the depositor gets back up to a specified amount.

“I think that is urgent and important that the people find out if their money is secured. I don’t want to wake up one morning and hear any one of the banks closed and people have problems getting their money,” the caller stressed.