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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2022
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Fidelity cuts profits target by $2-$2.5m By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net FIDELITY Bank (Bahamas) has cut its full-year profit forecast by $2m-$2.5m after incurring more upfront costs than anticipated with the ongoing roll-out of its merchant and card services. Gowon Bowe, the BISX-listed commercial lender’s chief executive, told Tribune Business these investment will pay-off in future years with the bank deciding “take our medicine now” and unveil a revised 2022 profit forecast of between $22.5m to $23m. Confirming the revision to the initial $25m target, he added that demand for the ‘Click and Pay’ card services has exceeded all expectations with merchant numbers three times’ more than that projected for the full year after just nine months. October was some 30 percent ahead of forecast.
• ‘Taking medicine now’ on card services investment • Onboards ‘more than three times’ merchants target • Won’t participate in ‘race to bottom’ to grow loans Speaking after Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) unveiled a 12.5 percent year-over-year net income decline, from $17.796m to $15.571, for the nine months to end-September 2022, Mr Bowe told this newspaper that the continued growth in total income reassured that the commercial lender’s strategy is on the right track despite the temporary increase in costs.
BANK of The Bahamas’ top executive says the country is “a long way away from a debt default” even though constant sovereign downgrades are “taking their toll” on the banking industry and wider economy. Kenrick Brathwaite told Tribune Business the frequent downgrades by Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s (S&P) cut his bank’s profits for the 2023 first quarter by “in excess of $1m” as he voiced concern that these actions were painting a misleading position on the nation’s financial health.
The Bank of The Bahamas managing director expressed optimism that a sovereign debt default “is just not going to happen”, given that the country still has multiple tools it can employ to stave off such an outcome such as new and/ or increased taxes and selling-off public assets such as Crown Land and stateowned enterprises (SOEs). The Government also has access to borrowing at much cheaper rates in the domestic Bahamian capital markets, but Mr Brathwaite told this newspaper that gaining access to capital - with system liquidity standing at $2.254bn at
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FTX’s fall ‘won’t ruin’ high-end real estate By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net BAHAMIAN realtors believe the FTX crypto currency exchange’s implosion will not “ruin” western New Providence’s high-end property market as bargain hunters start to circle its $74m worth of holdings. George Damianos, president of Damianos Sotheby’s International Realty, told Tribune Business that real estate demand in the area was broad enough, and deep enough, to absorb the FTX properties without a blip whenever they were released to potential buyers.
Pointing out that they were likely to be tied up by FTX’s collapse, and left in the hands of its joint provisional liquidators for some time, he added of the crypto exchange’s failure: “I would say within reason that I don’t think it will have any effect at all. I think most of this stuff is on Albany, and while people are asking us obviously, I don’t anticipate any fall-out and I don’t think it will have any impact now or in the near future with them hitting the market. “I think Albany will absorb those apartments... I don’t see any reason to have
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FTX’s founder accused on Bahamas court order • Minnis: ‘I never met Bankman-Fried’ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
GOWON BOWE “As it relates to the full year profit target, we are moving that,” he disclosed. “We do not anticipate $25m, but we do expect in the fourth quarter that we will pick up some of the stagger and be consistent with last year around $22.5m to $23m.” Explaining the $1.8m year-overyear decrease in net income, which was largely driven by a 27.3 percent
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BOB chief: Bahamas ‘long way from default’ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
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FEARS have been voiced that FTX’s co-founder violated a Bahamas Supreme Court Order when he placed some 134 group entities under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware. US attorneys representing the Bahamian joint provisional liquidators for FTX Digital Markets, the collapsed crypto exchange’s local subsidiary, have raised concerns that Sam Bankman-Fried breached the asset freeze and Order obtained by the Securities Commission on Thursday, November 10, through such actions. That Order, issued by Chief Justice Ian Winder, also stripped Mr BankmanFried and his fellow FTX Digital Markets directors of all their powers and
SAM BANKMAN-FRIED transferred control of the company to Brian Simms KC, senior partner at the Lennox Paton law firm. However, the FTX cofounder then signed the documents placing FTX Trading and the group’s non-Bahamian assets into Chapter 11 protection at 4.30am on Friday morning. Warren Gluck, an attorney with Holland & Knight,
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