Higher fees are coming for customers of Republic Bank Ltd from Friday, after the country’s largest commercial bank announced a sweeping round of increases across everyday services.
The changes affect both routine transactions and penalty charges, with higher costs for basic services as well as steeper fees for overdrafts, missed payments and insufficient funds.
Notable increases include higher charges for overdrafts and insufficient funds, with NSF fees rising from $34.50 to $57.50, overdraft fees increasing from $30 to $57.50, and some loan late-payment penalties doubling to as much as $100.
Debit transactions will also now attract per-transaction fees on several accounts that previously included a limited number of free withdrawals.
There had been concerns that the country’s commercial banks would increase fees to pass on higher costs to customers following Finance Minister Davendranath Tancoo’s announcement in last year’s national budget that a 0.25% levy on the assets of commercial banks and insurance companies operating in Trinidad and Tobago would be introduced.
“Commercial banks and insurance companies, due to their large size, profitability and capitalisation, have reported sustained earnings, high liquidity ratios and strong asset base growth. Conservative lending practices and favourable monetary conditions have driven these outcomes,” Tancoo said then.
‘Unreasonably high fees’
“Despite this, the average citizen continues to be subjected to unreasonably high fees and near-zero returns on their savings and investments. Against this backdrop, I proposed to introduce an Asset Levy of 0.25 per cent, which is to be charged against the assets of commercial banks and insurance companies operating in Trinidad and Tobago,” he said.
Tancoo said the measure was expected to contribute $575 million annually to this country’s revenue.
Republic Financial Holdings Ltd reported a profit attributable to equity holders of $2.2 billion for the year ended September 30, 2025.
This represented an increase of $196 million, or 9.8%, compared to the $2 billion recorded in 2024.
Fees and commissions accounted for 15.4% of total revenue, according to the group’s annual report.
For the three months ended December 31, 2025, the group recorded profit attributable to equity holders of $595.7 million, up $48.7 million, or 8.9%, from $547 million in the corresponding period a year earlier.
Total assets rose to $131.1 billion at the end of December 2025, an increase of $7.5 billion, or 6%, compared with December 2024.
