STATEMENT: Michael Pintard says he wants to abolish the Post Office Savings Bank and force commercial banks into the Family Islands.
That is exactly what we warned about.
He is prepared to shut down a public institution that serves Bahamian families, pensioners, workers, and small savers across our archipelago. He is prepared to place Bahamian jobs at risk. He is prepared to tear away a service that many Family Island communities rely on. And he is pretending the Government has the power to order private, foreign-owned commercial banks to do what they have already chosen to stop doing.
The Progressive Liberal Party believes Family Islanders deserve access to savings and banking services close to home. That is why, year after year in this term, our government has worked to strengthen the Post Office Savings Bank, raise the deposit cap from $6,000 to $10,000, protect a savings option paying 5% interest, improve safeguards, and advance legal changes for the next stage of reform.
Abolishing the Post Office Savings Bank would mean firing 98 persons employed throughout the Family Islands and threatening a wider postal workforce of more than 256 staff across The Bahamas.
What Mr. Pintard failed to say is what becomes of the staff and what protections would be in place for client funds if he abolishes the Post Office Savings Bank. He gave no answer on the future of the 98 workers serving across the Family Islands, no answer on the wider postal workforce of more than 256 staff across The Bahamas, and no answer on how thousands of account holders would access their savings in communities where the post office remains the closest and most trusted public service.
He never explained who would carry responsibility for those depositors, what guarantees would exist for their money, or how families, pensioners, and small savers would be treated if this institution is shut down. Those omissions matter, because public policy cannot be built on slogans while Bahamian jobs and Bahamian savings hang in the balance.
What Mr. Pintard failed to say is who would match the Post Office Savings Bank’s 5% return for eligible savers. The Government savings bank offers 5% interest and was built to serve communities where commercial banking options are limited. By contrast, the Central Bank’s latest January 2026 report says the mean deposit rate in the banking system was 0.56%, and the highest rate on offer was 3.75% on fixed balances over 12 months, still below the Post Office Savings Bank rate.
His idea is reckless.
The Government has the power to strengthen the public savings bank we own. We have the duty to protect access for Family Islanders. Private commercial banks make their own decisions. No speech can change that.
So the choice is simple. Keep building a Bahamian institution that fills a real gap, or tear it down and leave Family Islanders with less.
Our choice is progress.
Today, more than 35,000 clients rely on the Post Office Savings Bank, and new accounts continue to open across the country, including in the Family Islands. That tells you the need is real. That tells you the service is important to them. That tells you abolition would hurt real people.
Mr. Pintard wants to tear it down. We want to improve it, modernise it, and expand its reach.
This election is about who stands with Family Islanders when services are under pressure. It is about who protects Bahamian workers. It is about who has a serious plan rooted in reality.
We will keep investing in Family Island access. We will keep strengthening public services that serve our people. We will keep moving ahead.
Choose progress. Keep The Bahamas moving forward.
