11102022 BUSINESS

Bank’s

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

COMMONWEALTH

Bank is targeting its grow ing deposit base for new borrowers after hit ting its 2022 full-year profit goal in just nine months through a $58.22m bottom line.

Tangela Albury, the BISXlisted bank’s vice-president and chief financial officer, told Tribune Business it will today declare an “extraordinary” four cents per share dividend to shareholders after enjoying a more than $72m year-overyear positive swing on its profit performance.

However, the reversal from a $23.923m loss for the nine months to end-September 2021 has been achieved almost solely through the reversal of loan loss provisions booked during COVID-19. The pandemic’s end enabled Com monwealth Bank to reverse,

or unwind, some $21.679m worth of such impairments during the period to end-Sep tember 2022 compared to the $74.846m in provisions it took during the same nine months of the prior year. This represents a $96.5m positive swing that has driven Commonwealth Bank’s 2022 profit rebound. However, to ensure this rebound is sus tained the BISX-listed lender must generate higher growth in its core consumer/personal loans business, yet its net credit book expanded by just over $10m during the first nine months of this year to $777.855m.

Gross interest income for the nine months to end-Sep tember 2022 actually fell by 11 percent year-over-year, dropping from $100.305m in 2021 to $89.319m this time around, while net interest income dropped by a simi lar margin - 12.3 percent - to $76.514m. Acknowledging that post-COVID provision ing reversals will eventually ease, Ms Albury said Com monwealth Bank will again focus on “organic loan book growth” as profits return to “normal” pre-pandemic levels.

Predicting that the institu tion will “match or exceed”

pre-COVID profit levels in 2023, she added that the recent Moody’s downgrade of The Bahamas’ sovereign creditworthiness “will not have any material impact” for Commonwealth Bank even though it holds $551m in government debt securities that could be exposed to an impairment charge as a result.

Bahamian regulator probing FTX woes

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE Securities Com mission was yesterday investigating the crisis that has left The Bahamas’ flagship dig ital assets investor on the brink of collapse after a rival crypto currency exchange walked away from a rescue deal.

Christina Rolle, the regula tor’s executive director, could not be reached for comment but well-placed Tribune Busi ness sources confirmed it was “very closely monitoring and investigating” the situation that at press time last night appeared to have left FTX’s continued existence - and multi-million dollar Bahamas expansion plans - in ever-grow ing peril.

FTX Digital Markets, one of the crypto currency exchange’s subsidiaries, is a Securities Commission licensee and Digital Assets and Registered Exchanges (DARE) Act reg istrant. This is what brings it under the Bahamian regula tor’s purview after a day of fast-paced developments that saw rival exchange, Binance,

Dorian tax breaks extension ‘no brainer’ following Nicole

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

EXTENDING the Hur ricane Dorian tax breaks in their existing form was yesterday branded “a no brainer” by Abaco resi dents, who argued that to do otherwise would be “pretty heartless” after the latest storm to strike the island.

Ken Hutton, Abaco’s immediate past Chamber of Commerce president, emphasising that he was saying nothing different from his successor, Daphne Degregory-Miaoulis, told Tribune Business that extending the island’s Spe cial Economic Recovery Zone (SERZ) order past

the December 1 expiry was vital to “restoring busi ness confidence” given that some who were flooded by Hurricane Nicole may be tempted “to throw in the towel”.

Nicole: Tourism suffers no ‘overwhelming shrinkage’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE BAHAMIAN tourism industry has not suffered a “material” reduction in bookings and guests despite nowHurricane Nicole striking Grand Bahama and Abaco, a senior hotelier said yesterday.

Robert Sands, the Baha mas Hotel and Tourism Association’s (BHTA) president, told Tribune Business that while there had been some “shrink age” due to the late-season storm it had not created “an overwhelming impact” and the industry was moving

forward with preparations for the upcoming Thanks giving holiday.

“I think there’s no ques tion that this late season storm has interrupted what has so far been a smooth, uninterrupted rebound of our tourism season,” he said. “We’ve certainly seen some diversions of cruise ships and certainly seem some early departures of guests at a number of hotels and airports, not so much because they are closed but flights have been cancelled.

“We’ve seen some reduc tion in arrivals at this time, but I can say confidently that it’s not been an over whelming impact. There’s

Sarkis warns: I’ll reveal ‘illegal kickback’ proof

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

SARKIS Izmirlian is doubling down on allegations of “shocking evi dence” that Baha Mar’s main con tractor “paid illegal kickbacks to the family of Bahamian offi cials” as part of a plot to seize Baha Mar and establish “Chinese control”.

The Cable Beach mega resort’s original developer, in filings with the New York State Supreme Court last Friday, raised the tem perature in his $2.25bn fraud and breach of contract claim against China State Construc tion (CCA) by threatening to reveal the “damning evidence” if the dispute makes it to a full trial.

Mr Izmirlian, whose family live at Lyford Cay, did not name the families or officials who he was referring to. However, the legal docu ments suggest their identities may be revealed - along with evidence of the alleged bribes and corruption - before the New York courts should the case reach that stage.

In a blistering opening salvo over their bid for “partial summary judgment” against CCA and its affiliates, the Baha Mar founder and his BML Properties vehicle said that despite failing to complete the multi-billion dollar project on time and on budget when he was in charge, the Chinese state-owned contrac tor was retained to complete the mega

resort

KEN HUTTON

CHRISTINA ROLLE

TANGELA ALBURY

SARKIS IZMIRLIAN

BAHAMIANS MUST BRACE FOR UNCOMFORTABLE TIME

Whathas the COVID-19 pandemic

taught us as a nation?

This crisis proved that we must prepare and plan - economically, socially and financiallyfor a sustainable future. If we are not moving in this direction, then the answer to the question earlier is that we have learnt noth ing from the pandemic. The time to learn from our past mistakes is now. Why now?

Well, for starters, the global economy is on the brink of a recession and policy experts believe economic condi tions will deteriorate as we enter 2023. So, what will we do with the little time we have left to ensure we can survive in the bear market? The better ques tion is: What are we doing to prepare for the inevi table? Recessions have a history of hurting emerg ing markets and developing countries more, since these countries/industries are extremely reliant on manu facturing countries. In this segment, we will discuss The Bahamas’ outcomes and opportunities as we brace for another cycle of a global growth slowdown.

Tough Decisions

As a developing coun try, we need to prepare

RODERICK A. AN

- both from a monetary and fiscal perspective - to deal with the spillovers from tightening financial conditions and a slow down in global growth. If you take a closer look at the news in recent times, business owners, lead ers, government officials and policymakers around the world are all prepar ing for a recession. Central banks are simultaneously increasing interest rates to combat inflation, and policy experts are constantly warning us about the sharp decline in global economic growth. All of these are signals to brace for what is

inevitable a global reces sion. Due to supply chain disruptions and labour market pressures, inflation has continuously led to an increase in prices across various industries. The US Federal Reserve and other central banks have responded by increasing interest rates in the hopes of slowing down demand, which in theory will help to cool surging prices. How ever, inflation continues to rise and, as a result, global gross domestic product (GDP) could potentially contract. Some believe this would mean a GDP growth rate of 0.5 percent in 2023, which is a 0.4 percentage point reduction.

Considering this, The Bahamas must prepare now for such events through its own Central Bank and policy responses. Eve rything should now be looked at from a demand and supply perspective. Demand should be sta bilised by creating price stability via monetary policy. Fiscal policy should be used to stabilise the national debt and associ ated interest rate costs. On the supply side, measures should be put in place to help address constraints facing labour markets, energy and trade (Guénette et al., 2022).

Policy responses Since the last reces sion in 2008, we must ask what have we put in place as a buffer to ensure the impact of inflation or any economic downturn does not dent the economy for years to come. Pres ently, we are still in the policy stages of diversifying our economy by bringing in new industries. We are still struggling to fund national disasters, crime initiatives, national emergencies, pensions and other solu tions that can determine our future as a country. We have been employing kneejerk responses for quite some time and they are not meant to be permanent solutions.

It is apparent that the policy responses we some times take have little to no effect, since they are not well thought-out nor measured based on out comes. For instance, the number of murders has not produced an emer gency response that shifts policies in the judicial or legal system. What it has done is lead to the forma tion of a task force that will be used to discuss best steps. How will this yield a different result? To make matters worse, stud ies have shown that there is a direct relationship

between unemployment and increased crime rates.

If a recession plays out in full, unemployment may rise and hiring freezes will be put in place, leaving many new and remaining members of the workforce without a job. We should ask ourselves: What per centage of that unemployed segment will resort to some form of crime?

Policy example: Price control Price control has a long history of not working, yet we continue to use it as a political tool, especially in hard times when infla tion is surging. There are two types of price control: Ceiling, and floors. Ceil ings are price controls on goods and services, and a floor is a minimum wage. The Government has recently implemented a mix of both by increasing the minimum wage to $260 per week while seeking to impose additional price control measures on gro cery retailers to combat the rising costs of food. But this temporary solution comes at a time when retailers are faced with the rising costs from their own suppliers.

There are a handful of key players in the grocery retail sector in The Bahamas. These grocers employ a

significant percentage of the retail sector, but if their retained earnings are impacted for an extended period, they would likely only break even in terms of profit, put in place hiring freezes or reduce staff costs. The impact is even worse for smaller grocery retailers who might be forced to shut their doors due to rising supply costs and lower demand.

In addition, price controls lead to the inefficient allo cation of goods and services because they only appear to reduce costs. In reality, they do not. Using price controls is like putting on a mask to cover inflation, because it can cause short ages that are far worse than the original setback caused by soaring prices. This can lead to major shortages in groceries, consumer goods and gasoline.

What can we do? We need to hear more from the Govern ment on what solutions can work. Governments around the world are using their monetary and fiscal policies to combat infla tion, so why can’t we? Despite the lack of diversi fication in the economy, we can do better than interfer ing with the growth of the

COMBINED INSURANCE ACT ALMOST CONSULTATION READY

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net

REFORMS that will combine existing laws governing the insurance industry into one compre hensive Act are close to completion and release for public consultation, regula tors said yesterday.

Carl Culmer Jr, the Insur ance Commission’s manager of policies and practices, told the Bahamas Institute of Chartered Accountants (BICA) week-long semi nars that consultation is

“on the horizon” over the amalgamation of the Insur ance Act 2005 and External Insurance Act 2009 into one piece of legislation.

“The amalgamation of the Acts remains an ongoing exercise that is approaching the stage where a public consultation will be on the horizon,” he said. “As you can imagine, this is an engaging process to ensure that the resulting amended Act continues to maintain its competitive edge in terms of the Com mission exercising its powers and facilitating the conduct of insurance busi ness that considers all of

its stakeholders, such as the policyholders, insurers, intermediaries and other service providers.

“Additionally, this involves several layers of cross-referencing to ensure that the proposed amend ments do not adversely impact the existing condi tions in which the insurance industry currently operates ,while facilitating that deli cate balance of growth and compliance with interna tional initiatives.”

Mr Culmer indicated that combining the Insurance Act 2005 and the Exter nal Insurance Act 2009 into one law “has been a

recommendation both from the FATF (Financial Action Task Force) and from reviews that occurred ear lier in the Commission’s life cycle”. Marrying both laws has been a two-year project that first started in 2019, and the Insurance Commis sion now feels confident the reforms are almost ready for release to the industry and wider public.

The amendments include replacing the existing 3 per cent tax levied on insurance premiums with a systemic risk levy, replicating recent changes unveiled for the Bahamian bank and trust companies, whose fees are

to be based on the systemic risk individual institutions pose and the amount of reg ulation they require.

Mr Culmer added: “The removal of premium tax is a by-product of government’s most recent Budget exer cise, and so previously there was a charge of 3 percent on premiums for our insur ers. During the most recent Budget exercise, govern ment has since amended that and included it in the Business License Act, and now government directly receives a Business License percentage of total turno ver for insurers.

“The amendments to the Insurance Act to include the implementation of the levy are in draft and under review by the Office of the Attorney General. As it relates to policy updates in December 2021, the con duct of business guidelines took effect after several weeks of industry consul tation. The purpose of the guidelines was to outline the legal requirements and professional standards in which intermediaries must conduct insurance business in The Bahamas. “

Small business tie-up eyed for green, blue economies

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net

ENVIRONMENTAL consultants yesterday said they were working on initia tives to unlock the potential of the so-called ‘blue’ and ‘green’ economies for The Bahamas’ long-term benefit.

Frederick Arnette II, conservation practitioner at the Nature Conservancy, told a Bahamas Institute of Chartered Account ants (BICA) conference that it is developing a pilot with the Small Business Development Centre (SBDC) focused on tourism

opportunities for local com munities. It is concentrated on “waste management, sustainable fisheries, as well as coastal restoration with other nature-based solutions”.

“Businesses can either line up with any one of these phases, whether they’re in the pilot or start-up phase, or maturity and that would give them access to grant funding, concession ary loans, or equity,” Mr Arnette said. Most of the businesses coming through the SBDC to partner with the Nature Conservancy are expected to be in the start-up phase and will need the support both agencies can provide to help with marine conservation.

The initial “pipeline” the Nature Conservancy has lined up are focused on the “blue carbon” track and “reef and mangrove insur ance”. Mr Arnette added: “We are really seeking to partner with the Access Accelerator, SBDC, to address some of the chal lenges to reef degradation and to really support micro, small and medium enterprises.”

Meanwhile, Scott Johnson, biodiversity con sultant with BRON, told the conference: “The green economy is one that results in improved human wellbeing and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities.

“In order to make a green economy a viable option for small countries, it must be compatible with other developing countries with regards to poverty alle viation. It must overcome key structural features of resource use and poverty in developing countries and land use changes, coupled with economic development and green house emissions changes.”

Mr Johnson added: “Tourism remains the most crucial component of the economy, and it employs over 40 percent of working Bahamians. Eco-tourism, as part of assisting in diversify ing the Bahamian economy, still has great potential in employing Bahamians, thereby reducing poverty.

“In areas such as research, tourism and bird tourism, both forms

of tourism can help sup port ecological resiliency and assist with conserva tion efforts and minimize ecosystem destruction…. In 2014, a study was done on birding in the country and it turns out that bird ing brought in $39m to the Bahamian economy. So there is money there and it’s fun.”

PUBLIC CONSULTATION ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT FOR KI’AMA BAHAMAS PROJECT

Tuesday, 29th November 2022 7:30 PM EST

St. Andrews Anglican Community Center on Queens Highway (opposite Peace & Plenty) in George Town, Great Exuma Google Meet Link: https://meet.google.com/ckn-bgkr-qkw

Hard copies of the EIA can be viewed at the Administrator’s Office in George Town Exuma, at the Department of Environmental Planning and Protection (DEPP) in Nassau during normal working hours, or at https://www.kiamabaha mas.com/EIA. The public is invited to send written comments to inquiries@depp. gov.bs or EIAPublicComments2022@kiamabahamas.com no later than 21 days after the date of the public meeting as noted above.

The general public and residents of the Exumas are cordially invited to attend a virtual and in-person Public Town Meeting to discuss the findings of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the Ki’ama Bahamas project, scheduled for the southern portion of Elizabeth Island, Gt. Exuma. The Developers intend to establish an environmentally sustainable, low-carbon, solar residential resort and solar powered yacht community on 35 acres of private land.

ACCOUNTANT SHORTAGES DRIVE SECTOR CHALLENGE

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net

THE BAHAMAS Institute of Chartered Accountants (BICA) presi dent yesterday said the industry is experiencing its own version of inflation as remuneration rates.

Lawrence Lewis told Tribune Business that despite the profession’s resilience and strong postCOVID-19 rebound, in addition to a “significant number of opportunities” opening up for it, the indus try still faces multiple challenges.

“So it really has been a very good time, notwith standing the challenges, and the reason for that has been

driven by the uncertainty that exists in the environ ment,” Mr Lewis added.

“Whenever there is uncer tainty businesses start to look, whether internally to their own financial experts or externally to folks that are in public practice, to help support them in navi gating those challenges.

The accounting pro fession is experiencing inflation. I think when you

look at it there having been a couple of things that have happened that has driven it. There’s sort of the general inflation that’s happening in the economy. The larg est cost for most accounting firms, persons in public accounting, are the cost people and so obviously everybody’s wanting to see some level of wage move ment occur relative to that.

Bahamian regulator probing FTX woes

FROM

walk away from acquiring FTX in a deal that was effec tively a bail-out designed to alleviate the latter’s liquidity crisis.

Binance and its chief executive, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), were said to have pulled out of the purchase after becoming spooked by reports suggesting that FTX was under investigation by US regulators and that it had allegedly mishandled cus tomer funds.

“As a result of corporate due diligence, as well as the latest news reports regard ing mishandled customer funds and alleged US agency investigations, we have decided we will not pursue the potential acquisition of FTX.com,” Binance said in a statement. The move plunged global digital asset and crypto currency mar kets into fresh turmoil, and raised increasing questions over FTX, whether it can be rescued, and the future of both itself and founder, Sam Bankman-Fried.

Bitcoin’s valuation fell more than 15 percent after Binance pulled out of the deal, while cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase fell by more than 9.5 percent.

Binance’s withdrawal came after Reuters reported the US Securities & Exchange

Commission (SEC) was investigating FTX’s han dling of customer funds and its crypto-lending activities, especially whether it had kept customer assets sepa rate from its own and if it had traded against clients.

The Bahamas was yester day urged to quickly “learn any lessons” necessary as a result of FTX’s woes, includ ing strengthening the DARE Act and the overall digital assets regulatory framework to better protect investors from similar situations that may arise in the future.

While there was grow ing consensus that FTX’s potential collapse will not cause The Bahamas any last ing reputational damage, or harm this nation’s ambitions to establish itself as a digital assets hub for the Caribbean and wider Latin American region, there are a number of short-term impacts in a worst-case scenario if the crypto currency exchange does not survive.

Besides questions over whether FTX’s plans for a $60m West Bay Street headquarters at Bayside Executive Park, complete with a 700-strong workforce and some 100 Bahamians trained in crypto currency, will ever begin construction, there are also implications for the Government’s ‘blue carbon credit’ ambitions.

Prime Minister Philip Davis KC previously said his administration was working with FTX to structure The Bahamas’ blue carbon cred its, derived from its seagrass and mangrove carbon sinks, and exploring the creation of a carbon credit exchange with it where these securities could be traded. That work is now likely to be inter rupted at the very least, and the Government may need to seek out a new partner.

FTX’s brand was also closely tied to this nation by virtue of the Crypto Baha mas conference it organised, and held, in this nation ear lier this year at Baha Mar. This brought many of the global digital assets indus try’s senior executives and thinkers to The Bahamas, and a repeat was sched uled for 2023. The crypto exchange was also the flag ship, or poster boy, investor frequently marketed by The Bahamas to entice other digital assets players to the country.

Besides its multiple con tributions to non-profits, charities and good causes, all of which may now dry up, FTX and its executives were also big purchasers and leasers of high-end New Providence real estate. John Christie, HG Christie’s pres ident and managing broker, told Tribune Business he and other realtors are “not really sure at this point” what impact its woes will have on real estate availability and prices.

Describing it as “a very complicated situation”, Mr

Christie said it was unclear whether FTX had moved to sell any of its New Provi dence real estate holdings in a bid to generate des perately-needed cash and liquidity. There was also the possibility that these assets could become tied-up in a liquidation, or receivership, should the crypto exchange prove beyond rescuing.

“The bottom line is that it’s too early to tell but we are keeping a close eye on it,” Mr Christie said. “I think they bought most of their stuff, but if people are leav ing and leases are broken that could affect property values for rental sales. Most if the things I know about have been bought rather than leased.

“I’m sure it will have an effect on the market some how, some way. We just don’t know what and how fast it will be. We’ll be watching it closely. It’s not good.”

Meanwhile, accountant John Bain, who previously said The Bahamas’ entry into the digital assets space prompted him to reunite with Philip Galanis some ten years after they went their separate ways, told Tribune Business that FTX’s travails were likely to prove a shortterm “blip” rather than inflict any lasting damage on the country’s digital assets hub ambitions or the DARE Act.

“That is so fluid right now,” he added of the tur bulence surrounding FTX. “There’s an immediate effect on the local economy. FTX was a big payer, and spent

“But because of the number of opportuni ties that are out there, there’s actually a shortage of persons in the account ing industry and students coming into the account ing profession, which is also creating more chal lenges - whether you’re an accountant in business or you’re a business ownerand you’re trying to find a good accountant to work

a lot of money donating to charities and helping a lot of people. I’m shocked it hap pened the way it did. There was some liquidity problem at FTX.”

Comparing the digital assets industry to the early days of banking, Mr Bain said The Bahamas may have to look at further upgrad ing the DARE Act and other aspects of its regula tory regime to better protect investors and prevent similar problems from occurring in future.

“This is a brand new, innovative industry and we’re still coming up with a lot of the infrastructure and regulations, which may not have been solidified,” he added. “It’s unfortunate it’s happened. If we look at amending our legislation, we must be aware these things can happen. It’s a lesson for us.

“I don’t think it will have a permanent effect, but there will be ramifications in the short-term for The Bahamas, for the Bahami ans who got jobs with them, who rented apartments and houses to them. There will be short-term effects. I don’t think there will be a longterm effect. It shouldn’t have an effect. On a long-term basis it will be a blip. Some times when you’re starting out establishing a new indus try, something happens and you have to be able to deal with it.”

FTX, in a notice on its website last night, said: “FTX is currently unable to process withdrawals. We strongly advise against depositing. All onboarding of new clients has been sus pended until further notice.” Its predicament highlights

ESTATE OF ANDREE ASTON ALBURY A.K.A. ANDRE ASTON ALBURY

within your business, or if you’re in public accounting, in a firm.”

As a result, Mr Lewis said the accounting profes sion is experiencing “wage inflation and wage pressure on all sides”. Together with accountants specialising in certain areas, and operating in the digital environment, this has caused a shortage of public accountants to meet the increased demand.

just how volatile the digital assets business is as it goes through its initial emergence and evolution phase.

Binance said in a state ment posted on Twitter that the issues facing FTX were “beyond our control or abil ity to help”. “Every time a major player in an industry fails, retail consumers will suffer. We have seen over the last several years that the crypto ecosystem is becom ing more resilient, and we believe in time that outliers that misuse user funds will be weeded out by the free market,” it said pointedly.

The exchange added that “as regulatory frameworks are developed, and as the industry continues to evolve toward greater decentralisa tion, the ecosystem will grow stronger”. FTX was forced to turn to Binance for help after suffering “a significant liquidity crunch”.

Mr Bankman-Fried, in a letter sent to FTX staff on Tuesday that was obtained by Reuters, revealed that the crypto currency exchange suffered $6bn of withdrawals in the previous 72 hours.

He wrote: “On an average day, we have tens of millions of dollars of net in/outflows. Things were mostly aver age until this weekend; a few days ago. In the last 72 hours, we’ve had roughly $6bn of net withdrawals from FTX.” The FTX chief added that withdrawals from FTX.com were “effectively paused”.

FTX’s sharp, and sudden, descent into trouble was sparked by reports that Alameda Research, FTX’s sister company, held around half of its multi-billion dollar assets in the FTT crypto tokens previously created by FTX.

Binance’s CZ responded by revealing that Binance would be selling $2bn worth of FTT tokens that it held, and the move send the lat ter’s price crashing through the floor as investors stam peded for the exit despite the best efforts of Mr Bank man-Fried and FTX to halt the sell-off that became a rout.

BANK’S NINE-MONTH $58M BEATS FULL-YEAR PROFIT GOAL

Responding to written Tribune Business questions, Ms Albury said it expected “the pattern of profit ability” seen during the first nine months of 2022 to continue through the fourth quarter to year-end. The four cents per share “extraordinary” one-off dividend represents a capi tal return to shareholders worth a collective $11.7m, and will take total investor payouts for 2022 to-date to some $23.4m accord ing to this newspaper’s calculations.

“The Bank’s third quar ter financial performance has exceeded our budgeted expectations as the strong rebound of the economy has facilitated the reduction of the bank’s non-performing loan book, as well allowed for improvement in over all loan delinquency,” Ms Albury said. “We have seen the reversal of loan impair ment expense in the first quarter hold, with a mild uptick in the third quarter, and this has resulted in the bank meeting its full-year profitability goal at the end of the third quarter.”

The three months to end-September 2022 saw Commonwealth Bank produce $15.428m in total profit compared to a $13.128m loss during the prior year period, again driven by the reversal of COVID-19 loan loss pro visions. Ms Albury said the BISX-listed lender will now prioritise growing its borrower base once again as the Bahamian economy returns to a more solid foot ing after the pandemic.

“We recognise that the bumper level of profitability that the bank is experienc ing in 2022 is driven by the strong rebound of the econ omy of The Bahamas after the severe economic shocks brought about because of the COVID-19 pandemic,” she added.

“As the economy contin ues to normalise, and the rate of profitability trends towards historic averages, we plan to focus on the organic growth of our loan book and yields, delin quency management and improvements in the way we service our customers, which we expect to sustain the bank’s normal level of profitability.”

Commonwealth Bank generated total comprehen sive income of $32.374m and $51.64m for 2019 and 2018, respectively, and Ms Albury said it will focus on converting new depositors into loan clients. The bank’s deposit base has expanded by more than $50m, or some 3.5 percent, during the first nine months of 2022 to $1.513bn compared to $1.462bn at year-end 2021.

“Growth of interest income will come at a steady rate as we as attract both new depositors and borrowers to the bank,” she predicted. “We have seen where our customer deposit base has grown by approximately 3.5 per cent year-over-year, and these new depositors are also potential customers for our loan products, so our plans are around harnessing this opportunity for loan growth.

“We are also focusing on our existing loan clients and their needs for expanded credit, as well niche oppor tunities within the mix of our personal lending products of mortgages, con sumer loans and credit card facilities. We also expect that our continued efforts to reduce our non-perform ing loan book will translate into increased interest income, and so delinquency management, inclusive of aggressive recovery of charge-off loans, will be key to growing the top-line interest income.”

Ms Albury added that any impairment charge taken on Commonwealth Bank’s government debt investments as a result of Moody’s recently down grading The Bahamas was unlikely to have any major impact on the loan loss pro visioning reversals taken earlier in 2022.

“The bank has exposure to debt instruments issued directly by the Government of The Bahamas totalling approximately $551m as of September 30, 2022,” she confirmed. “As part of the bank’s risk management processes, any adverse change in the credit rating by international agencies such as Moody’s will cause an assessment to deter mine if there is a significant increase in credit risk.

“The outcome of this assessment is generally

Asian stocks follow Wall St down before US inflation update

By JOE MCDONALD AP Business Writer

ASIAN stock markets followed Wall Street lower on Thursday ahead of a U.S. inflation update that will likely influence Fed eral Reserve plans for more interest rate hikes after elections left control of Congress uncertain. Hong Kong's market benchmark fell by more than 2%. Shanghai, Tokyo and Sydney also declined. Oil prices edged lower.

Wall Street's benchmark S&P 500 index lost 2.1% as investors watched votecounting from Tuesday's congressional elections to see whether Republicans take control, possibly lead ing to changes that can unsettle markets. Investors were rattled by the crypto industry's latest crisis of confidence and weaker profit reports from The Walt Disney Co. and some other companies.

Forecasters expect U.S. government data Thursday to show surging inflation eased in September but stayed near a four-decade high. That might reinforce arguments by some Fed offi cials that rates have to stay high for an extended period to slow economic activity and extinguish inflation.

"There are upside risks" of higher inflation than expected, said Michael Every of Rabobank in a report. "If so, expect more market pain."

Investors worry rate hikes this year by the Fed and central banks in Europe and Asia to cool inflation might tip the global economy into recession.

The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong tumbled 2.3%

to 15,980.61 and the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo shed 1.2% to 27,391.00. The Shanghai Composite Index gave up 0.5% to 3,034.21. The Kospi in Seoul declined 0.5% to 2,412.93 and Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 sank 0.4% to 6,971.90. New Zealand and Jakarta gained while Singapore and Malay sia declined.

associated with an increased impairment charge. However, we do not anticipate that this will have any material impact on the reversal of impairment expenses already experi enced through the nine months of 2022.”

Meanwhile, Ms Albury said a broad-based cost increase had driven a $5m or 10.8 percent rise in general and administra tive expenses to $54.539m for the nine months to end-September 2022. She explained: “There are sev eral key factors resulting in the material change in general and administrative expenses year-on-year.

“Namely additional dep recation resulting from the completed construction of the Abaco branch build ing, increased property

insurance costs, increased real property tax costs and increased staff costs, which include the cost of Satur day banking operations, which have been instru mental to improving our in-branch customer service experience.”

Commonwealth Bank is facing increased competi tion from rival commercial lenders in the personal loan space, especially from Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) and Bank of the Baha mas. Ms Albury said the Central Bank’s move to relax requirements around borrower debt service ratios, and loan down pay ments, would improve the BISX-listed institution’s competitiveness versus non-bank rivals.

“It is a positive signal to the market that credit

expansion is encouraged in a sound and safe manner to allow and facilitate stable economic growth,” she added of the regula tor’s move. “However, the credit market has signifi cantly expanded outside of the traditional financial institutions licensed by the Central Bank, which do not have to adhere to debt service ratio limits, and this change can con tribute to our improved competitiveness.”

Describing 2022 as “an unusual year” for both The Bahamas and Common wealth Bank, similar to 2020 and 2021, Ms Albury said: “As we normal ise our economy and the bank’s operations, there is no expectation that 2022 against 2023 will be compa rable. What is the basis of

comparison will be our preDorian and pre-COVID normalised financial per formance, and we expect to match or exceed that in 2023.

“This will be challeng ing as The Bahamas is not immune from the global economy and, in particular, the primary source econ omy for our tourist product, the US. We are also at risk for the effects of climate change, also a non-control lable effect on the economy, and ultimately impacting lending conditions for the bank.

“We remain cautiously optimistic on these issues and are satisfied that we will maintain a fortified balance sheet to help the bank navi gate these challenges while returning a good profit next year.”

Dorian tax breaks extension ‘no brainer’

Confirming that Nicole’s main impact was flood ing, caused mainly by storm surge but also rain, he explained: “We’ve got a whole lot of people that have not been able to afford to get back in their homes, the SERZ Order is expiring at the end of the month, and a lot of people in Murphy Town and Dundas Town had to evac uate to the shelter because of the flooding and will have to rebuild again, but there’s no SERZ.

“I think it’s absolutely a ‘no brainer’ that the SERZ has to be extended in its entirety. Abaco will rebuild. There’s no doubt about that. We’re a tough, resilient people, but any thought of the SERZ Order being allowed to expire is pretty heartless.”

Pointing also to “sig nificant flooding” that had occurred in downtown Marsh Harbour along Don Mackey Boulevard as a result of Nicole, Mr Hutton

added: ‘It certainly wasn’t as bad as Dorian by any stretch, but businesses are just starting to get their footing back and we’ve now been hit again.”

The ex-Chamber chief, asserting that he knew of several businesses flooded by Nicole having just recently re-opened after rebuilding from Dorian, continued: “There’s a lot of businesses this has hap pened to. There’s a lot of people that may decide to throw in the towel after this and say ‘it’s not worth it’, and that would be a crushing blow to Abaco’s economy.

“We’re three years out from Dorian, and things are starting to look a bit like normal and this hits us again. We need the SERZ Order extended. We’ve got to have it. It’s some thing that’s needed, that’s required. It’s not the magic pill but will go a long way to restoring everyone’s confidence in the economy here. The Government

wants us to rebuild, right? At least I think so.”

Mr Hutton said tour ism and other pre-Nicole indicators had suggested the island’s economy was “coming back very strongly” post-Dorian and COVID-19, and added: “This could certainly hurt us again.” The Davis administration has said that, rather than extend the present SERZ and its blan ket tax breaks and other exemptions, it is prepared

to continue them using a case-by-case format where businesses and individuals must apply individually.

Warning that this will disadvantage businesses in Abaco and Grand Bahama, Mr Hutton explained: “The Government thinking that the SERZ will be replaced by something that is a case-by-case consideration, basically what that does is it cuts out all the local sup pliers. If you apply for your home, you’ve got to buy everything in Florida to get the concession.

“You can’t buy anything locally. It doesn’t help the local economy at all. As a homeowner, a lot of things they might need they won’t have the capacity to shop at Home Depot and bring it all in on their own. There’s been absolutely zero consultation from the Gov ernment in regard to it. It was basically shut the door; that’s what it is. It’s done.”

Roscoe Thompson, head of the Marsh Harbour/ Spring City Township, yesterday echoed Mr

Hutton’s call. He said: “I think the Government will have to, and I’m going to say this: If the Govern ment has any sense they would extend the VAT and duty-free zone. There are buildings that people are living in that might not be fully complete that were compromised by Nicole. They’re going to have to gut and remove sheet rock.

“This is time for the Government to back off on VAT and duty here on Abaco and give us time to rebuild.” Chester Cooper, deputy prime minister, ear lier this week indicated the Government’s position has shifted a little and it may be willing to consider extend ing the Dorian tax breaks as is especially following Nicole’s passage.

Michael Halkitis, min ister of economic affairs, has said at least twice that the Davis administration believes the current SERZ format is giving away too much in revenue. It feels that the tax breaks are being exploited by those

who do not require them, especially wealthy foreign second homeowners, and that the SERZ is also being abused for tax evasion and other nefarious purposes by Bahamians living out side Grand Bahama and Abaco.

The minister has indi cated, though, that a structure will be estab lished where Abaco and Grand Bahama residents and businesses will still be able to apply for relief on a case-by-case basis. It is unclear, though, how this will work and whether it is likely to become mired in bureaucracy and red tape.

ROSCOE THOMPSON

NICOLE: TOURISM SUFFERS NO ‘OVERWHELMING SHRINKAGE’

also been some redundancy, with some guests unable to get in and others unable to get out. There’s been some shrinkage of business over this period, but nothing I would say that is signifi cantly impactful.”

Mr Sands pointed out that Lynden Pindling Inter national Airport (LPIA) remained open throughout Nicole’s passage through the northern Bahamas, adding that this was vital since it acts as “the gateway to the substantive part of the room inventory”.

Suggesting that 75-80 percent of the tourism “shrinkage” experienced this week had been due to the storm, the BHTA president added: “It is very difficult to give the rea sons for the shrinkage, as there could be multiple factors to this. I would say at least 75-80 percent of it has been impacted by the storm, but the actual num bers are not material. We do not anticipate any run-off effects, especially given that Thanksgiving is close - two weeks away.”

Mr Sands said of poten tially greater concern was Nicole’s impact on Florida, which remains a major visi tor source market for The Bahamas, and provides the critical port infrastructure that facilitates the cruise industry as well as the air port hubs that provide stopover visitor access to these shores. The US state is also a key logistical and supply chain centre for the resort industry and entire Bahamian economy.

“The quicker it arrives and departs Florida with minimal negative impact, we’d consider ourselves home free,” he added. “I think it’s important to say that we hope that, notwith standing Grand Bahama and Abaco are getting the worst of this storm, their recovery is quick and that their damage is minimal. I think it will be all hands on

deck for a speedy clean up to get us back to a quick sense of normalcy.”

Michael Maura, Nassau Cruise Port’s chief execu tive, earlier this week said Tropical Storm Nicole has likely cost the capital some 27,000 visitors after almost one-third of its vessel arrivals cancelled.

Based on numbers he provided, the storm appears to have cost Nassau Cruise Port some 6.5 percent of its November passenger forecast and a similar per centage of its anticipated vessel calls. Mr Maura con firmed that half the eight cancellations, those involv ing the Enchantment of the Seas on Monday; the Disney Wish and Liberty of the Seas on Tuesday; and Freedom of the Seas yesterday came following calls from the cruise lines themselves.

The other half, namely the Carnival Liberty, Independ ence of the Seas, Carnival Sunshine and Anthem of the Seas were due to the Port Department’s deci sion to close all Bahamian ports with effect from 7am Tuesday morning due to the approaching storm. Mr Maura said Nicole’s fall-out will drop forecast vessel calls on Nassau to 110 for November.

“Leading up to this week, and prior to the arrival of this storm, we had fore casted 118 cruise calls for the month of November,” he told Tribune Business “With the loss of eight calls, we have adjusted downward and are now expecting 110. For December we have forecast 121 calls.

“We had forecasted, prior to this storm, 411,570 total passengers for November and now that will have to be adjusted downwards by approximately 27,000. Then in December, which we do not expect to be negatively impacted by storms such as this, our 121 calls are forecast to bring 412,634 passengers.”

BAHAMAS PUSHED AT WORLD TRAVEL MARKET

THE Bahamas has this week promoted its qualities as a tourism des tination while exhibiting at World Travel Market as it seeks to bolster its posi tion as a leading Caribbean destination.

The Ministry of Tour ism, Investments and Aviation maintained a strong presence at the three-day event, which ended yesterday, through a delegation headed by its acting director-general, Latia Duncombe.

Among the attrac tions promoted was the recently-opened Bahamas

Maritime Museum on Grand Bahama, which gives visitors an insight into the history of The Bahamas’ waters via a collection of recovered artifacts and treasures showcasing the country’s maritime heritage.

British Airways (BA) has increased service to Nassau to six flights per week, and together with four flights per week from Virgin Atlantic, has boosted access to The Bahamas from the UK.

The reopening of the Hur ricane Hole Superyacht Marina on Paradise Island,

and $300m investment in upgrading Nassau’s cruise port, were also highlighted.

The $250m Long Island cruise project by Azul Destinations and Calypso Cove Destinations was highlighted, with the venue seeking to open in 2024 and accommodate 13,000 cruise passengers per day. It will feature a 200-room hotel, golf course and casino.

The Cove in Eleuthera re-opened on November 7, following several upgrades, while the Abaco Club plans to add 36 beachfront villas and a new restaurant.

Share your news

ESTATE OF ETHELYN MARITA WELGOS A.K.A. ETHELYN WELGOS NEE ALBURY

TAKE NOTICE that anyone having a claim against the Estate of ETHELYN MARITA WELGOS a.k.a. ETHELYN WELGOS NEE ALBURY late of the Settlement of Marsh Harbour, Great Abaco, Bahamas, who died on the 14th day of October, 2018, may submit such claim in writing to the law firm of MAILLIS & MAILLIS, Chambers, Fort Nassau House, Marlborough Street, Nassau, Bahamas, tel: (242) 322-4292/3, fax: (242) 323-2334 ON OR BEFORE the 30th November, A.D., 2022.

The Tribune wants to hear from people who are making news in their neighbourhoods. Perhaps you are raising funds for a good cause, campaigning for improvements in the area or have won an award. If so, call us on 322-1986 and share your story.

SARKIS WARNS: I’LL REVEAL ‘ILLEGAL KICKBACK’ PROOF

- and received a $700m “windfall” - for doing work it should have completed under himself.

“Throughout the pro ject, CCA promised BML Properties that CCA’s man agement and staff were devoted to the project, that CCA was using best efforts to timely complete the project, and that CCA was acting in the best inter ests of the project,” Mr Izmirlian blasted.

“However, discovery in this case has revealed shocking evidence of CCA’s fraud and breaches of con tract. CCA intentionally delayed construction to extort payments from BML Properties. CCA author ised hundreds of workers to leave the project during the crucial pre-opening period. CCA diverted manage ment and staff to competing projects. CCA paid illegal kickbacks to the family of Bahamian officials to pro tect CCA’s position.

“And CCA conspired with other Chinese entities to stop construction. Why? To ensure that the resort and casino were transferred fully over to Chinese con trol.” Baha Mar is now owned by Hong Kongheadquartered Chow Tai Fook Enterprises (CTFE), with Tribune Business having previously revealed evidence suggesting CCA and the resort’s financier, China Export-Import Bank,

had long decided it should be a Chinese buyer after ousting Mr Izmirlian.

“Here is a small sample of the damning evidence that the court will see at trial,” the original devel oper pledged in his legal documents. “Despite representing to BML Prop erties and multiple governments that defend ants could and would substantially complete con struction before April 2015, defendants [CCA] admit ted in a contemporaneous internal document that their schedule ‘was a stretch and aggressive, and could probably not be met’.

“Defendants removed hundreds of workers from the project after promis ing BML Properties to increase their labour force.

Defendants conceded in an internal letter that defend ants’ failure to deal with the project’s manpower issues would cause ‘irreparable and catastrophic losses’, and that ‘the completion target of the Bahamas pro ject will not be achieved’.

“Just nine days before the promised opening date, defendants were privately contemplating ‘a complete shutdown of the work’ on the project in order to gain ‘negotiating’ leverage over BML Properties. Defend ants later instructed their employees to ‘freez[e] all the handing over progress’.”

Mr Izmirlian said this ultimately resulted in his

ousting as Baha Mar’s developer, with his family losing their multi-million dollar equity investment in the project. He alleged, though, that CCA made out quite nicely after it was paid $700m by China Export-Import Bank, its fellow Chinese state-owned institution and Baha Mar’s main lender, to complete construction.

“The result for BML Properties was catastrophic. As a result of CCA’s acts, the project did not open on time, and went into liquida tion and receivership. BML Properties was ousted and lost billions,” Mr Izmirlian asserted. “The result for CCA, on the other hand, was a windfall.

“Just as CCA had plotted, a new Chinese company, Perfect Luck, obtained con trol of the project. Yet CCA stayed on as construction manager, despite its past failures. CCA then received at least $700m in additional payments to complete the same work CCA should have done years earlier for BML Properties.

“BML Properties brings this case to recoup the massive financial losses that CCA caused BML Properties to sustain, and to reverse CCA’s massive windfall resulting from the same misconduct that harmed BML Properties.”

Among the documents filed by Mr Izmirlian to support his case was an e-mail authored by Jason

McAnamey, CCA’s execu tive director for mechanical, engineering, plumbing and fire protection (MEP/ FP), who warned that the Chinese state-owned contractor that it was promising to hit deadlines it could not meet ahead of the missed March 27, 2015, opening that proved so fatal to the former developer’s ownership.

“Can someone please explain to me what about the words that came out of my mouth were not clear and understood about the fire and smoke control systems,” Mr McAnamey wrote. “That the original date of the end of Febru ary [2015] was a stretch and aggressive, and could prob ably not be met. And now it’s mid-January. We will never learn.”

Among other previously unpublished documents was a March 18, 2015, letter from Yuan Ning, CCA’s president, to Chen Guocai, vice-president of CCA’s parent, China State Construction and Engineering Corporation (CSCEC), threatening that the contractor will “take extreme measures such as a complete shutdown of the work” just nine days before Baha Mar was due to open.

Revealing that CCA was mulling such action as a means to force Mr Izmirlian and Baha Mar to pay the contractor what it felt was owed, Mr Ning wrote: “In addition to the shortage of funds, The Bahamas project owner [Mr Izmirlian] has still not approved the con struction progress payment of CSCEC in February.

“Under such circum stance, we believe and suggest that only by taking extreme measures such as a complete shutdown of the work is it possible to bring the three parties back to the negotiating table to fully and completely solve the problems of lack of funds and payment of construc tion funds.”

Describing this as “a spe cial report”, Mr Ning urged his superior that it was an “urgent matter” and he needed to give instructions on whether CCA should down tools in an effort to gain leverage over Mr Izmirlian and Baha Mar to force payment.

Meanwhile, Tiger Wu, CCA (Bahamas) executive vice-president, admitted in a sworn deposition that he allowed 700 Chinese construction workers to leave the Baha Mar pro ject site and return to their

ber 2014 and February 2015 - right when the contractor was supposed to be deliver ing on promises to ramp up and accelerate construction work to meet the March 27, 2015, opening. Asked whether he obtained Baha Mar’s per mission to send those workers home, Mr Wu ini tially demurred. “I don’t recall if there’s any require ment for us to receive Baha Mar’s consent on the work ers. But Baha Mar, they were aware the workers were going home,” he said.

However, under repeated questioning Mr Wu admit ted this permission was not obtained. “Now, I think, your previous testimony was that additional work ers on the project might help reach the substantial completion date of March 27, right?” the interrogator asked. Mr Wu replied in the affirmative.

“Okay. So given that, why did you approve over 700 workers going back to China during this period?” the CCA executive was asked. Mr Wu replied: “As I said, for any typical pro ject, when it come to the final finish stage, the labour is going to gradually ramp down.”

0.2390.17029.12.45%

0.9321.26042.93.15%

2.850.00 0.0700.000N/M0.00% 6.205.75Bahamas

6.20 6.200.00 1.7600.000N/M0.00% 10.058.78Bahamas

8.78 8.780.00 0.3690.26023.82.96% 4.342.82Cable Bahamas CAB 3.95 3.950.00 -0.4380.000-9.0 0.00% 10.657.50Commonwealth

CBB 10.25 10.250.00 0.1400.00073.20.00% 3.652.27Commonwealth Bank CBL 3.49 3.30 (0.19) 31,0000.1840.12017.93.64% 8.516.01Colina Holdings CHL 8.50 8.500.00 0.4490.22018.92.59% 17.5010.25CIBC FirstCaribbean Bank CIB 16.00 16.000.00 0.7220.72022.24.50% 3.251.99Consolidated Water BDRs CWCB 3.70 3.62 (0.08) 0.1020.43435.511.99% 11.289.25Doctor's Hospital DHS 10.50 10.500.00 0.4670.06022.50.57% 11.679.16Emera Incorporated EMAB 8.88 9.110.23 0.6460.32814.13.60% 11.5010.00Famguard FAM 10.85 10.850.00 0.7280.24014.92.21% 18.3014.05Fidelity Bank (Bahamas)

Lorna Kemp and Tachaka Mullings

LIQUIDATORS

c/o Clairmont Trust Company Limited

Pineapple House #4 Lyford Cay P.O. Box SP-64284 Nassau, Bahamas

L i v e I n H o u s e k e e p e r W a n t e d

S e e k i n g e x c e p t i o n a l a n d q u a l i f i e d t a l e n t t o a s s i s t i n t h e m a n a g e m e n t o f t y p i c a l h o u s e h o l d d u t i e s s u c h a s c o o k i n g a n d c l e a n i n g w i t h a d d i t i o n a l p e r s o n a l c a r e o f a c h i l d r e s i d i n g f u l l t i m e i n A b a c o T h e r o l e w i l l w o r k d i r e c t l y w i t h t h e h o m e o w n e r s t o p r o v i d e d i r e c t c a r e a n d s e r v i c e t o t h e h o m e a l o n g w i t h d a i l y a c t i v i t i e s a n d s c h e d u l e d p r o g r a m m i n g T h i s p o s i t i o n i s f u l l t i m e w i t h b e n e f i t s i n c l u s i v e o f : C o m p e t i t i v e S a l a r y H o u s i n g A n n u a l T r a v e l A l l o w a n c e M e a l s

I n t e r e s t e d c a n d i d a t e s m u s t p o s s e s s t h e f o l l o w i n g : 1 0 y e a r s + o f e x p e r i e n c e i n H o u s e k e e p i n g C h i l d C a r e e x p e r i e n c e a n a d d i t i o n a l b e n e f i t M u s t b e a b l e t o r e l o c a t e M u s t b e a b l e t o w o r k s h i f t s

I n t e r e s t e d q u a l i f i e d a p p l i c a n t s a r e a s k e d t o e m a i l t h e i r r e s u m e t o K e n y a F a r q u h a r s o n a t k e n y a f a r q u h a r s o n 2 8 @ g m a i l c o m b y N o v e m b e r 2 0 2 0 2 2

LEGAL NOTICE

N O T I C E

EXXONMOBIL EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION RUSSIA WEST SIBERIA ONSHORE LIMITED

Pursuant to the provisions of Section 138 (8) of the International Business Companies Act 2000, notice is hereby given that the above-named Company has been dissolved and struck off the Register pursuant to a Certificate of Dissolution issued by The Registrar General on the 25th day of October, A.D. 2022.

Dated the 10th day of November, A.D., 2022

Daniel A. Bates

Liquidator of EXXONMOBIL EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION RUSSIA WEST SIBERIA ONSHORE LIMITED

N O T I C E

EXXONMOBIL EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION TOGO LIMITED

Pursuant to the provisions of Section 138 (8) of the International Business Companies Act 2000, notice is hereby given that the above-named Company has been dissolved and struck off the Register pursuant to a Certificate of Dissolution issued by The Registrar General on the 17th day of October, A.D. 2022.

Dated the 10th day of November, A.D., 2022

Daniel A. Bates Liquidator of EXXONMOBIL EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION TOGO LIMITED

31-Aug-2022 31-Aug-2022

31-Mar-2021 31-Mar-2021 MATURITY 19-Oct-2022 20-Nov-2029 31-Jul-2022 31-Jul-2022

BAHAMIANS MUST BRACE FOR UNCOMFORTABLE TIME

FROM PAGE B2

private sector, especially with an economic reces sion looming. We need to increase growth as much as possible rather than stifle it. Doing this can be harm ful, and will indeed shift a company’s focus from production to meeting the Government’s needs and being at their whim. There are some monetary and fiscal policies that do more harm than good, and at the very least we can learn from them. The objective of monetary policy is always to offset an economic down turn by reducing the cost of borrowing for consumers

and businesses. There are many ways to achieve this using monetary and fiscal policy tools such as discre tionary spending, reserve regulation or discount lending.

At the same time, govern ments can only do so much to ensure their citizens are not severely impacted by economic downturns. We also need to tighten our spending and budget even more. We need to save where we can and brace ourselves for what could be a very uncomfortable period, while keeping in mind that a little planning goes a long way. We will get through this.

PROVIDER MOVES TO UNLOCK DIGITAL PAYMENT BY TOURISTS

A BAHAMIAN digi tal payments provider yesterday said it is launch ing products that will enable micro and small businesses to conduct elec tronic transactions with tourists.

Island Pay, in a state ment, said its digital Tourist Wallet App and the Small Merchant App will improve financial inclu sion for these enterprises by allowing them to accept digital payments by visi tors while also boosting the tourism sector.

It added that the Tourist Wallet will allow tourists to travel totally cash free in a region where credit card acceptance among small businesses is low, and where there can be reputational challenges surrounding the use of cash.

Using the Tourist Wallet, Island Pay said visitors can securely and instantly pur chase Sand Dollars, the Bahamas’ Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), which can then be used to purchase goods and services across The Baha mas. To support this drive, the company added that its Small Merchant app

will allow small business owners to transact with tourists by giving them the technology they need to accept Sand Dollars.

“Island Pay is excited to bring this technology to market, which we firmly believe will be game chang ing for the local economy,” said Jeffrey Beckles, Island Pay’s managing director.

“As a champion in the fight to democratise access to money, we hope other cen tral banks will be looking at the success of the Sand Dollar and the innovation of the Central Bank of The Bahamas as a strong case study for what is possible as we move further along the path to a digital economy.

“As a tourist-driven economy, Island Pay is committed to working with our stakeholders to improve opportunities for greater participation in our economy by small mer chants on every island in The Bahamas. Sand Dollar is a great innovation and a real game changer.”

“Today’s announcement is an important step in pro moting financial inclusion for all Bahamian business owners, and will serve to broaden the adoption of

the Sand Dollar, helping to drive economic activ ity across the Islands,” said John Rolle the Cen tral Bank of The Bahamas governor.

“This is an open door for all merchants, regardless of size, to accelerate their

participation in the tour ist economy in a way they could not in the past. The Central Bank of The Baha mas is particularly targeting more inclusive outcomes for small, independent business owners such as jet ski operators, artisans and

craft vendors who need to transact through safe and secure digital means with tourists and with anyone else using the Sand Dollar.”

Island Pay said it has pre viously launched a digital currency credit card in part nership with MasterCard

and The Central Bank of The Bahamas, while also integrating a digital cur rency into Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) and beginning distribution of government benefits and payroll through its mobile wallet.