Lieutenant Governor Tregenza A. Roach, Esq., who is also Chairman of the Virgin Islands Banking Board, has ordered Oriental Bank to undertake measures to address customer service issues relating to their system conversion, and is requiring the bank to compensate all customers who have suffered any financial loss due to the conversion.
The Board has received several complaints stemming from the conversion of Scotiabank’s ScotiaGlobe system to Oriental Bank’s core banking platform following the acquisition of the Bank of Nova Scotia’s U.S. Virgin Islands operations by Oriental Bank.
The action of the Order came at the Board’s September 11, 2020 meeting with members Lieutenant Governor Roach, Rosalie Javois, Richard Grant, and Finance Commissioner Kirk Callwood all voting in favor of key action items for Oriental to implement. The order is issued as per the Lieutenant Governor’s statutory authority as Chairman to regulate banks in the Territory.
As required by the Order, Oriental Bank must:
- Provide the Board with a report that identifies customers who suffered a financial hardship or were assessed any fees as a consequence of not having access to their funds during the conversion period.
- Reimburse customers for costs expended on fees, resources, and banking products such as deposit slips, checks drawn on the former bank, and other items should these products be rendered obsolete.
- Demonstrate compliance of COVID-19 health measures for staff and customers or be faced with fines for being in violation of these mandated steps.
- Provide the Board with a report of staffing to include new hires and indications of personnel action in terms of a loss of staff from the start period of Oriental Bank’s acquisition on December 31, 2019 to present.
- Report to the Board by September 30, 2020 how they have addressed all outstanding issues related to Phase One of the conversion.
Persons who have experienced a financial hardship in the form of assessed fees due to the conversion are encouraged to contact the Division of Banking, Insurance and Financial Regulation at (340) 773-6449 on St. Croix and (340) 774-7166 on St. Thomas.