July 5, 2021
The Central Bank of the Bahamas.
Stories this photo appears in:
Bank hopes for more Sand Dollar uptake
A CENTRAL Bank official said the institution has plans to get the country’s commercial banks on board with the use of the digital Sand Dollar this year to increase uptake with the general public.
Central Bank wants stricter due diligence to stop another FTX
The Central Bank of The Bahamas has called for stricter due diligence on the transfer of funds in the wake of the FTX collapse.
National debt shrinks - but only falls $21m
The Bahamas’ national debt enjoyed its first quarterly contraction for years during the three months to end-September 2022, the Central Bank revealed yesterday, although the decline was a modest $20.7m,
Central Bank holding steady as reserves drawdown gains pace
The Central Bank yesterday maintained its prediction that The Bahamas’ external reserves will end 2022 ahead of prior year levels even though October’s decline exceeded 2021 by some $58.3m.
‘Stable footing’: Ban on new payment providers removed
The Central Bank’s governor yesterday disclosed it is lifting the near three-year bar on new entrants to the money transmission and digital payments business with the market now on “a stable footing” post-COVID.
Bahamas ‘may never be ready’ for exchange control elimination
The Central Bank’s governor yesterday warned The Bahamas “may never be ready” for the total elimination of exchange controls, adding: “I’d like to get to the Indy 500 but some of us aren’t even on Carmichael Road.”
Tourism rebounds to 90% pre-COVID level
Bahamian stopover arrivals rebounded to 90 percent of pre-COVID levels for July as the tourism recovery maintained its momentum by attracting some 3.677m visitors during the first seven months of 2022.
COVID-19 controls ‘saved’ $900m external reserves
The Bahamas’ capital controls saved “around” $900m in external reserves at COVID’s peak, an economic researcher has estimated, while also helping to lower the Government’s annual interest burden by 2.5 percent of GDP.
Don’t bail-out stricken parents, banks warned
Bahamian financial institutions were yesterday ordered not to bail-out financially stricken parents or affiliates as part of the “recovery plans” they have to submit to the Central Bank by mid-2023.
Inflation jumps five-fold to back PM’s warning
The Central Bank yesterday revealed that annual inflation for the year to June 2022 increased almost five-fold compared to the previous 12 months to give a stark indication of the cost of living crisis facing many Bahamian families.
Bahamas’ arrivals at 3m, just 16% off pre-COVID
The Bahamas received almost three million tourist arrivals during the 2022 first half, it was revealed yesterday, with June’s numbers just 16 percent down on the record-breaking pre-COVID pace set in 2019.
Relaxed lending rules for domestic credit
THE Central Bank of The Bahamas is relaxing the guidelines for domestic banks and credit unions around the qualification criteria for provision of credit to the private sector. This takes account of the domestic economy’s increased capacity to sustainably absorb more credit expansion, given the potential for credit growth to stimulate greater imports and increase the net use of foreign exchange.
Dirty money - The biggest policy failure of all
THE Central Bank’s former chief enforcer says the US and UK are the biggest recipients of “dirty money” and suggests racial bias against countries like The Bahamas in anti-money laundering (AML) programmes.
FNM warning: We need action - now
THE Free National Movement yesterday expressed concern about the Bahamian economy and the management of the country’s fiscal affairs.
Central Bank: Investors no longer ‘tepid’ on Gov’t debt
The Government’s domestic debt issues were fully subscribed for the first time in almost three years during the 2022 second quarter, the Central Bank has revealed, arguing that “tepid investor sentiment” has been reversed.
Banks and regulator seek to ‘mute’ cheque-end dissent
The Central Bank yesterday removed from its website a document seeking bids for a campaign “to mute” opposition to the elimination of cheques after the language used was questioned by Tribune Business.
Banks’ fee income doubles in decade
Bahamian commercial banks are generating an ever-increasing share of their income from the fees detested by many consumers, which now account for more than $1 out of every $5 in earnings.
Foreign reserves stay over $3bn despite May decline
The Bahamas’ foreign currency reserves closed May 2022 above $3bn despite a $65m drop-off during the month, with the Central Bank reiterating its belief that they remain “more than adequate” to sustain the US dollar peg.
Collateral Registry to ease 231% loan security burden
The Central Bank has unveiled plans for an Internet-based collateral registry that will ease Bahamian small business access to funding in a market where the security demanded is often more than three times’ the loan amount.
March air arrivals near to 75% of pre-COVID
Tourist arrivals to The Bahamas increased almost ten-fold in March 2022 compared to the prior year aided by the continued easing of COVID-related border restrictions and a rebound in global travel, it was revealed yesterday.
BOB shedding ‘haunted’ past with 20% growth goal for ‘23
Bank of The Bahamas top executive yesterday asserted it is moving beyond the bail-outs that “will forever haunt” the institution with predictions it will grow this year’s forecast $7m profit by a further 20 percent in 2023.
Tourism arrivals rise by a sixth
The Central Bank of The Bahamas said tourist arrivals grew by 17 percent in 2021, but are still a way off 2019 numbers.
‘Entrenched reduction?’: Bad loans down $22m
The Central Bank is “holding off” in determining whether COVID-related loan delinquencies have peaked despite a $22.4m reduction in non-performing credit during the 2022 first quarter, its governor revealed yesterday.
Governor raises reserves forecast as $3bn beaten
The Central Bank yesterday raised its year-end forecast for The Bahamas’ external reserves holdings after they started May above $3bn following a $523m expansion during the first three months of 2022.
External reserves jump on banks’ $84m inflow
The Bahamas’ external reserves grew by almost $55m in February 2022 as commercial banks collectively received a net $84.2m foreign currency inflow from their customers.
National debt still bigger than Bahamas economy
The Bahamas’ national debt remained larger than the size of the country’s economy at year-end 2021, it was revealed yesterday, standing at a sum equivalent to 100.3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).
Bahamas’ $3bn in Russian assets ‘under 1%’ of sector
The Central Bank’s governor yesterday said the nearly-$3bn in Russian-connected assets held by the Bahamas’ international financial services industry represents “less than 1 percent” of the sector’s total business.
$2.92Bn of Russian funds in Bahamas
THE Central Bank said international banks and trust companies had about $420m in deposits and $2.5bn in custody or trust assets for which the ultimate beneficial owners were from or connected to Russia.
Central Bank: Inflationary pressure to be ‘contained’
The Central Bank yesterday forecast that “inflationary pressures will remain contained” while The Bahamas’ foreign currency reserves will close 2022 above “international benchmarks”.
Central Bank to explore cross-border Sand Dollar
The Central Bank aims to explore the Sand Dollar’s use outside The Bahamas within the next three years, it was revealed yesterday, with 20 percent of this nation’s adults having no bank account.
Domestic Gov’t bond just 25% subscribed
Concerns were raised last night over investor appetite for the Government’s debt after just 25 percent of a recent $47.326m bond issue was picked up by the market.
External reserves to end 2022 ‘not far from’ $2bn
The Central Bank’s governor yesterday predicted that The Bahamas’ external reserves will end 2022 “not far off $2bn” and ensure the US dollar exchange rate peg faces “no undue pressure”.
Pre-COVID output ‘not good enough’
The Central Bank’s governor yesterday warned that returning to pre-COVID economic output “is not enough” as he reaffirmed forecasts that GDP will expand by 8 percent in 2022.
Year ends seeing first shoots of growth
THE Central Bank of The Bahamas said that the economy will “register marginal growth” for 2021.
Cheques to be eliminated in three years
THE Central Bank of The Bahamas is looking to eliminate cheques by the end of 2024.
Central Bank wants to see ‘prepare for worst plans’
The Central Bank of The Bahamas has called for recovery plans for all supervised financial institutions (SFIs) to help enable them to fully restore operations after a crisis situation.
National debt just under economy’s size at 98.4%
The Bahamas’ national debt was just less than the size of the economy at end-September 2021 after increasing to almost $10.5bn over the previous three months, it was revealed yesterday.
Central Bank unions file second trade dispute
THE two unions representing Central Bank employees have filed a second trade dispute over stalled negotiations with management related to an outstanding industrial agreement and other issues.
Central Bank hit by staff sickout
A NUMBER of Central Bank workers called in sick yesterday to protest unresolved grievances with management.
Regulator loses $116k roof repairs strike-out
The Central Bank’s bid to strike out a Bahamian contractor’s $116,000 claim for breach of contract relating to roof repairs has been rejected by a Supreme Court judge.
National debt breaks $10bn
The Government last night confirmed that The Bahamas’ national debt had breached the $10bn mark due to the borrowing blow-out inflicted by the combination of COVID-19 and Hurricane Dorian.
INSIGHT: Legal letters and libel stir the waters at Central Bank
WEEKS after an interview with the press, a banker’s union boss has been told to apologise for remarks she made or face the consequences.
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