Moody’s latest report on the Bahamas revealed that the Bahamian economy grew by 2.6% in 2023.
Chief Executive Officer of Fidelity Bank Bahamas, Gowon Bowe recently commented on the report and what else The Bahamas can do to protect its reserves. He said, “the banking system is dominating by three Canadian banks. Ultimately those banks have in excess of $800 million in reserves that is all foreign currency and if they ever, for whatever reason, decide that they will withdraw it, as oppose to selling if they wish to take their capital out it would be a significant depletion of our reserves.”
Bowe also spoke about the merits of having a national development plan. “If we devise a national development plan that gains consensus, not unanimous agreement, consensus, that says civil society, the citizens, the businesses, the government, all are in relative agreement about what the vision for the country is and how we will get there, then we will actually start grading and evaluating our politicians and our policy makers by execution, not philosophy.”
Prime Minister, the Hon. Philip Davis also commented on the Moody’s report while fielding questions from reporters this week. He said, “I’m satisfied that we have always been on the right track. I’m happy that our work has been endorsed such an organization like Moody’s and we trust to continue the way we are. We still have a lot of work to do despite those ratings. It tells us that our stewardship has been good for the two plus years we’re in and we’ll continue this trek and hopefully soon you’ll see much more to come.”
The Moody’s report also highlighted the fiscal transparency and debt reduction efforts of the government.
