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Monday, February 2, 2026
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Capital markets to shed ‘gun ‘Minimum of $5m’ to prevent further shy’ past with $200m raises PHA overtime woe
BY NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
BAHAMIAN investors and companies could collectively raise up to $200m in the capital markets this year, an investment bank chief is predicting, as they continue to shed the “gun shy” inhibitions sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic. Michael Anderson, RF Bank & Trust’s president, told Tribune Business that while many in the private sector are still trying to regain the necessary “confidence to move foward” following the pandemic-induced shock he believes 2026 will be “a good year” for debt and equity capital raises as the local market builds on the growing activity seen in 2024 and 2025. Disclosing that RF Bank & Trust and its affiliates expect to be involved in between $50m-$100m worth of capital-raising transactions themselves in 2026, he added that when other investment houses are included the total amount raised from investors seeking higher returns than the negligible interest available on bank deposits could easily be double the latter figure. “RF is working on a number of transactions it’s likely to bring to market, and CFAL has been bringing a lot of things to market over the past year,” Mr Anderson told this
• RF chief predicts ‘good year’ as ‘confidence’ rebuilds • But over $3bn still ‘sitting on the sidelines’ in banks • ‘Lot of opportunity’ as Property Fund targeting $40m
newspaper. “My sense is there’s a bit more activity. I think 2026 will be a bigger year in terms of capital market activity. “We’ll see more coming to market - whether it’s property development or raising capital to grow their business. There’s opportunities to raise capital to grow a business or take over another business. The years 2022 and 2023 were relatively quiet, 2024 was a start back and 2025 was a good year. We had quite a few deals getting funded.” With the underlying Bahamian economy’s fundamentals still relatively robust, despite continued global geopolitical tensions and uncertainty over Donald Trump’s trade and tariff policies for the US, Mr Anderson said this nation still faces the challenge of trying to put the $3.17bn in excess liquid assets in the commercial banking system to work by expanding productive businesses and industries.
Epstein advised: Bahamas ‘will welcome you with open arms’ BY NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE convicted paedophile and sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein, was advised that The Bahamas “will welcome you with open arms” amid a sustained effort to interest the now-deceased financier in acquiring private islands and high-end real estate. E-mails among some three million Epstein-related documents released by the US Justice Department on Friday expose a prolonged effort by Brian Webster, head of a Palm Beach real estate firm, to interest the disgraced
JEFFREY EPSTEIN
multi-millionaire - who in 2008 was jailed for 18 months for soliciting prostitution from underage girls
OFFENDER - See Page B8
Grid operator claims BPL left it in the dark BY FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net THE company charged with overhauling New Providence’s energy grid yesterday accused Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) of leaving it in the dark over Sunday morning’s power outage because it has denied acess to the “control centre” since last Tuesday. Bahamas Grid Company, in a now-deleted post to social media, said its technicians have been working to restore power across New
Providence but could not provide answers about restoration timelines or why the outage was so widespread because it had been denied access by BPL. The company said that despite having a “contractual right to jointly manage”, only BPL staff were present in the control centre during the outage and they were still waiting for information from the state-owned energy provider. “As for your questions on restoration timing and why the power went out so
WEATHER - See Page B6
• Over $2m being paid for December BY NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net MICHAEL ANDERSON
“There’s still a massive amount of liquidity in the banks,” he told Tribune Business. “That’s a huge amount of money to be sitting on the sidelines in the banks not working for the economy. There’s definitely an opportunity for people to start a business, grow a business or acquire another business having so much money around. “My sense is there’s a lot of opportunity for people to take advantage of. Just looking at it from RF’s perspective, I would expect somewhere between $50m-$100m in transactions. We’re not the only participant, so I imagine somewhere between $100m-$200m would be a reasonable amount for the market as a whole. “There should be a lot more going on. People got a bit gun shy when COVID happened and businesses suffered. People haven’t yet got the confidence to move forward but
OFFER - See Page B6
THE Ministry of Health and Wellness is seeking “a minimum of $5m” in extra funding from the Government’s upcoming mid-year Budget to cover projected overtime pay at The Bahamas’ public hospitals and associated healthcare facilities for the remainder of the 2025-2026 fiscal year. Dr Michael Darville, minister of health and wellness, told Tribune Business he had already tapped his ministry’s “supplemental Budget” for the $2.055m in December overtime payments that are now being processed for Public Hospitals Authority (PHA) staff in a bid to resolve concerns that caused many nurses to call in sick. Disclosing that he wants the resulting staffing shortages, which have forced the PHA to temporarily close
DR MICHAEL DARVILLE several out-patient clinics and cancel “all elective surgeries”, resolved “like yesterday”, the minister sought to reassure Bahamians and hospital patients alike that “we are on top of it” as he urged the Bahamas Nurses Union and other healthcare unions “to come to the table to ensure this doesn’t happen again”. The nursing sick-out across PHA facilities was
PAYMENT - See Page B7