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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.
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Fiscal snapshot: $33m revenue increase over 12 months
THE Ministry of Finance yesterday released its fiscal snapshot that showed a $33m increase in revenue over 12 months as the economy continues to rebound.
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WORLD VIEW: Has CARICOM reached its limits of regional integration?
In the first part of this commentary - published last week - the conclusion was reached that the great ideals, set out in the 1973 Treaty of Chaguaramas (the CARICOM Treaty) and its revision in 2001, remain unfulfilled. But does this reality mean that, as the CARICOM project reaches its 50th anniversary next July, it has reached the limits of regional integration?
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BTC not at Liberty’s top as revenue rise flattens
The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) was not among its ultimate parent’s best Caribbean performers during the 2022 second quarter as revenues flat-lined against prior year comparatives.
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Governor targets loan delinquency ‘under 5%’
The Central Bank’s governor yesterday said he is targeting a commercial bank loan delinquency rate of “less than 5 percent” as some institutions push for an easing of lending restrictions.
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'Very small' US hike impact as national debt past $12bn
The Ministry of Finance's top official yesterday said last week's Federal Reserve rate hike had "a very small" impact on interest costs tied to the $2.317bn in foreign currency debt held by external investors.
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Happy investors, angry consumers
ActivTrades
While the population is carrying the burden of high electricity and gas prices, energy companies are reporting record profits and making their investors happy.
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‘Break down offshore barriers’ to aid SMEs
The Bahamas has been urged “to find creative means” to allow so-called ‘offshore’ financial institutions to participate in the local economy and help narrow an estimated $748m small business “financing gap”.
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COVID gives Doctors $58m top-line boost
Doctors Hospital has enjoyed a $58m revenue boost from COVID-19, it was revealed yesterday, helping to send net income soaring by 130 percent year-over-year for the 12 months to end-January 2022.
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Cruise island expansion to drive 149% visitor rise
Visitors to a cruise line’s Bahamian private island are forecast to increase by more than 427,000 per year once two piers are constructed to allow its vessels to properly dock, it has been revealed.
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Bahamas nets 3-0 win over Bermuda
Make it their second straight spectacular showing for the Bahamas women’s national tennis team at the prestigious Billie Jean King Cup at the Centro Nacional de Tenis Parque del Este in the Dominican Republic.
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Fidelity chair: Global recession risk ‘high’
A BISX-listed bank’s chairman has branded 2021 “the comeback year we all hoped for” after his institution cut loan loss provisions by almost $19m due to borrowers becoming current with their obligations again post-COVID.
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Attorney must pay $165k over ‘forged’ bank drafts
A Bahamian attorney has been ordered to pay Scotiabank some $165,000 after his business account became overdrawn due to two bank drafts that were discovered to be “forgeries or counterfeit”.
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Attorney General hails ‘trailblazing’ carbon Bill
The Attorney General yesterday hailed the Carbon Credit Trading Bill as “trailblazing”, asserting that The Bahamas is further ahead of the entire world in having a “specific framework” to regulate this multi-million dollar activity.
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LinkedIn gives VAT alert to Bahamians
Bahamians have been alerted that LinkedIn, the professional networking app, has become the latest digital economy app to impose 10 percent VAT with effect from July 21, 2022.
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Archdeacon William Thompson Softball Park rededicated
PRIME Minister Philip ‘Brave’ Davis assured the public that his administration will not allow the public parks to go into the deteriorating state that previous administrations left the Southern Recreation Grounds in.
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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.
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10% increase for social safety net
THE government will next month increase the rates of the Social Safety Net Benefits Assistance Programme by ten percent across the board, according to Social Services and Urban Development Minister Obie Wilchcombe.
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Carbon credit earnings are ‘many years’ away
A senior Bahamas National Trust (BNT) executive has warned this nation “won’t get a dollar from carbon credits for many years” as he backed calls for more direct local ownership in the fledgling industry.
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It’s official: Ayton inks new deal with Phoenix Suns
DEANDRE Ayton officially inked his new deal with the Phoenix Suns and said his focus has shifted from the business of basketball to the pursuit of the franchise’s first NBA title.