July 5, 2021
The Central Bank of the Bahamas.
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Central Bank in multiple exchange control eases
THE Central Bank last night unveiled multiple reforms to further relax The Bahamas’ exchange control regime that it believes will not create any “material” risks for the US dollar peg and wider economy.
Central Bank releases bank fees comparison
A COMPARISON of bank fees has been released by Central Bank - showing costs across financial institutions, principally for transactions related to deposit accounts and the maintenance of credit services.
National debt up as spending rises faster than revenue growth
The Central Bank revealed yesterday that the national debt grew by $206m over the last quarter.
Two-thirds say Bahamas can end cheques by ‘26
Almost two-thirds of Bahamians believe this nation could be ready for the elimination of cheque payments within the two-year deadline set by the Central Bank to review its goal.
Businesses wait over two months for bank account
BAHAMIAN businesses face an average wait of more than two months to open a bank account with almost 80 percent asserting that the process “took longer than expected”.
‘Down-payments cut’ as bank removes indemnity
The Central Bank of the Bahamas (CBB) has released new “relaxed” lending rules for residential mortgages.
Slowdown in inflation, reports Central Bank
The Central Bank of The Bahamas said inflation slowed to 4.1 percent in its monthly economic developments report for November.
Central Bank expects growth at ‘moderated pace’ in economy
The Central Bank revealed yesterday that the reduction in external reserve balances for November slowed by over $77.8m from 2022, reflective of net foreign currency outflows through the private sector.
Central Bank: 1,250% digital asset capital not ‘excessive’
The Central Bank yesterday rejected assertions it is being “excessive” in requiring licensees to hold 12.5 times’ the amount of capital involved to back trades of non-stablecoin digital assets.
National debt shrinks $77m in third quarter
The Bahamas’ national debt shrank by almost $77m during the 2023 third quarter but this proved insufficient to reverse the total $400m-plus growth incurred over the prior 12 months, it was revealed yesterday.
IMF: Further ‘limit’ Central Bank’s financing of Gov’t
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) last night called for a further “reduction in the limit” on how much funding the Central Bank can provide to the Government as it signalled the present bar is too high.
Mortgage loan approvals hit 4-and-a-half year low
Mortgage loan approvals have slumped to their lowest level in four-and-a-half years, it has been revealed, with almost one in four applications rejected because borrowers have a 50 percent debt service ratio.
Mortgage loan approvals decline to under one-third
Less than one out of every three mortgage loan applications was approved in the 2023 first half despite total credit applications to the commercial banking sector increasing by 9.4 percent year-over-year.
50% of Bahamians to use Sand Dollars by end-2024
Central Bank executives yesterday forecast that 50 percent of Bahamians will have active Sand Dollar accounts by year-end 2024, with 160,000 already using this nation’s digital currency version.
Central Bank: Don’t send dormant accounts ‘direct’
The Central Bank has told its commercial bank and other licensees to stop sending clients seeking to recover dormant accounts directly to it as such applications must come from the institutions itself.
Central Bank drops 2024 cheque elimination target
The Central Bank has abandoned its original target of eliminating paper cheque use by year-end 2024 because “a compelling fraction” of Bahamians need more time to adjust, its governor affirmed yesterday.
Inflation to stay ‘high’ as food costs up 11%
The Central Bank yesterday warned Bahamian consumers that inflation will remain “high” in the near-term, and decline more slowly than in other countries, with food and drink prices rising 11 percent over the year to end-June 2023.
National debt up $458m despite ratios declining
The post-COVID economic revival dropped The Bahamas’ debt-to-GDP ratio to 85 percent at end-June despite the national debt increasing by $457.5m over the prior 12 months to $11.645bn.
Reserves stay ‘buoyant’ though growth reduced
The Central Bank yesterday said The Bahamas’ external reserves are set to remain “buoyant” in 2023 although June’s growth is $44.4m short of 2022’s expansion.
‘Record growth’ for tourism according to bank report
TOURISM is showing “record growth” according to a new report from the Central Bank of The Bahamas - while economic growth continues at a moderate pace.
Central Bank reviews $250m investment currency reforms
The Central Bank’s governor yesterday foreshadowed reforms to protect Bahamian retail investors from potential “headwinds” in an overseas investments market that is this year on track to exceed 2022’s $250m outflow.
Bank stability at 7-year high on $400m profits
The Bahamian commercial banking sector’s stability hit a seven-year high in 2022, the industry’s regulator has revealed, as combined profits soared nearly 59 percent to just shy of $400m.
Reserves hit $2.9bn on Gov’t borrowing boost
The Bahamas’ foreign currency reserves expanded by almost $169m in May due to a boost from the Government’s external borrowing activities as they closed the month at near-$2.9bn.
Stopover tourists strike 94% pre-COVID levels
TOTAL air arrivals to The Bahamas in May hit 94.2 percent of pre-COVID’s 2019 high, the Central Bank revealed yesterday, with overall visitor numbers for the first five months of 2023 some 68 percent ahead of last year.
National debt growth slows as hits $11.5bn
The national debt's growth rate slowed below 1 percent during the three months to end-March 2023 as the total sums owed by The Bahamas to its creditors rose to just under $11.5bn.
Local banks pass anti-financial crime 'shadow shopping'
The Central Bank yesterday hailed the results of a 'mystery shopper' style survey of Bahamian financial institutions which found "rigorous evidence" they were in full compliance with efforts to combat financial crime.
Payment fraud up eight-fold at $21m
Payment fraud increased in value almost eight-fold to $21.2m in 2022 with debit cards accounting for four out of every five reported cases, it was revealed yesterday.
Central Bank exceeded Govt lending limits at year-end '22
The Central Bank would have massively exceeded its legal lending limits to the Government had the latter's accessing of $232.3m in IMF special drawing rights (SDRs) been included in the 2022 year-end calculation.
Central Bank warned over Gov’t lending limits breach
The Central Bank was advised it could breach its legal lending limits to the Government through the latter’s use of $232.3m in IMF special drawing rights (SDRs) without reforms to its governing Act.
‘No headroom’ for Gov’t Central Bank borrowing
The Government will not have “any extra headroom to borrow from the Central Bank” once legal reforms are passed to slash its lending limits by almost half, the latter’s governor revealed yesterday.
Growth to ‘moderate’ as COVID revival near end
The Central Bank yesterday reaffirmed that The Bahamas’ economic growth rate will “moderate as the recovery from COVID-19 becomes more complete” with February’s air visitor arrivals just 2.5 percent off pre-pandemic pace.
Gov’ts Central Bank debt soars 85% on IMF SDRs
The Government’s controversial borrowing of IMF special drawing rights (SDRs) reversed five years of decline by causing its net debt to the Central Bank to soar by 85.4 percent to $805.6m.
Cheque end ‘solving non-existent problem’
A Bahamian businessman says the Central Bank and its licensees are seeking to “solve a problem that does not exist” with their drive to eliminate the use of cheques by year-end 2024.
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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