NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Some local non-profit organizations and charities say they are being severely ‘handicapped’ by the inability to open bank accounts, with a top executive of a well-known non-profit noting that the sector has not been established as a coherent market that commercial banks cater to.
Matt Aubry, the Organization for Responsible Governance’s (ORG) executive director, told Eyewitness News that with more than 1,000 non-profits registered in The Bahamas, there should be a stronger relationship between banks and the sector.
“ORG for the last probably five years has allocated a pretty significant portion of what they are doing to help build the sector,” he said.
“We have done a couple of things to gather information. We did some research early on and were doing a study right now to see what impact the sector has. What we are getting back and feedback we have gotten historically is that non-profits have problems with the ease of doing business.”
He continued: “A part of the issue was that you couldn’t get registered because the Registrar was really backed up. I know a couple of organizations that were waiting as long as eight years for formal registration and in those cases, they couldn’t get a bank account.
“Once the Non-Profit Organizations Act of 2019 was passed that should have been a vehicle for organizations to get registered. I understand there has been a bit of a lag but what I know is as of early this year over 1,000 non-profits were registering in The Bahamas.”
Aubry noted that a large number of the country’s non-profit organizations are churches and a number are also service-based organizations.
“One of the challenges is that you still have to have something for the bank to build on and you have some structure legally recognized,” he said.
“Once you have established yourself as a registered non-profit organization it should put you in good standing but with commercial banks continuously working on their due diligence processes there becomes a lot of regulations and the smaller non for profits that don’t have a lot of infrastructures might experience challenges in getting a bank account.”
Human Rights Bahamas (HRB) said in a statement yesterday that it has been made aware that several non-profit organizations and charities operating in The Bahamas have been severely handicapped by an inability to open bank accounts.
“They report being obstructed and impeded for months and sometimes years, made to jump through unending bureaucratic hoops and climb mountains of red tape. In fact, all banks in The Bahamas seem to have taken an unofficial decision to hinder and exclude non-profits across the board,” the organization said.
The HRB statement continued: “The victims of this policy are hard-working, caring Bahamians who strive every day to improve the lives of others, care for children and the elderly, help the victims of sexual assault, protect the environment and secure a fairer and more transparent political and social system to the benefit of all Bahamians. They are being systematically disenfranchised: unable to do their work, raise funds or pay staff.
“Most NGOs are funded by generous supporters of their particular cause, and the vast majority of donors require the recipient organization to have a working bank account. Because of the obstruction by banks, many groups are now being threatened with closure, and other much-needed, socially important efforts are unable to even get off the ground. Worst of all, young Bahamian students abroad who wish to work in this field are being discouraged from returning home.”
Aubry noted that there needs to be a stronger relationship between the banking sector and non-profits.
He said: “I don’t think that nonprofits have been established as a real coherent market that banks seem to be catering to or have a package for. I think there is an opportunity there. There should be stronger relationships with the banking sector and nonprofit sector.”
