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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2021
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CIBC walkout in bid to force bank to address staff issues By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net
CIBC First Caribbean is now “looking to talk” after employees walked off the job to protest not having a collective agreement in place. Theresa Mortimer, Bahamas Financial Services Union (BFSU) president, told Tribune Business that amid the industrial action taken by employees of
the CIBC First Caribbean Bank yesterday the bank is now “looking to talk” about the employees’ longstanding issues and concerns. Ms Mortimer said she was going to talk to First Caribbean yesterday to “see what we can get accomplished”. “They have a collective agreement that has been outstanding for far too long now and it was like no one was hearing the employees and the union could only do so much. So it comes a time when the staff have to
THERESA MORTIMER
take matters into their own hand,” she said. Taking matters into their own hands yesterday was what the staff members at CIBC First Caribbean did when they took industrial action against the bank, with the bank initially saying that they intend to “abide by the tenets of partnership” between them and the employees and union. Ms Mortimer said: “I can tell these employees that they have gotten some attention, and so I’m waiting for the bank to
call me back and talk like they promised. Hopefully, depending on how they do business we’ll know where to go from there.” The collective agreement has been outstanding for over a year and staff at the bank “want it resolved immediately,” Ms Mortimer said. “Throughout the entire 2021 they have been going to work without their agreement. I’ve been trying to get the bank to sit and talk, but they have time to go on vacation and be absent
Cheques to be eliminated in three years
Reserves slide continues trend with four percent fall By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net EXTERNAL reserves slid by four percent in November, continuing a trend, according to the Central Bank of The Bahamas. The bank’s Monthly Economic and Financial Developments (MEFD) for November, said: “External reserves contracted by $113.0m to $2,475.4bn during November, extending the $100.4m decline a year earlier. Reflective of this outturn, the Central Bank’s net sale to the public sector deepened to $50.8m from $32.6m in the preceding year. “Meanwhile, the Central Bank’s net sale to commercial banks moderated to $61.2m from $73.1m. Further, commercial banks net outflows to their customers tapered to $53.8m from $100.7m in the prior year.” The bank has prided itself on keeping a robust external reserve portfolio during the bulk of the COVID-19 pandemic and even going as far as restricting external capital flows from commercial banks in 2020 as a way to protect it. This modest slide in external reserves may be reflective of investors looking to repatriate profits to their home jurisdiction as the bank also said: “Provisional data on foreign currency sales for current account transactions showed a $166.5m growth in outflows, to $647.6m in November, relative to the same period of 2020, attributed to increases across almost all categories. The outturn reflected higher payments for “other” current items ($56.1m)—mainly credit and debit card financed imports—non-oil imports ($48.2m) and factor income payments ($42.9m). Similarly, a rise in foreign currency sales were noted for oil imports ($28.3m) and travel related transactions
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LIGHTHOUSE POINT
Smith open to investors for his PI project By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net A BAHAMIAN entrepreneur said he has the funding to complete his $2m Paradise Island Lighthouse project despite just last week seeking investors. Toby Smith, principal of Paradise Island Lighthouse & Beach Club Company (PILBC), told Tribune Business yesterday that financing was never the issue with his project and he can secure the money needed to finance his project. The problem has always been ease of doing business, he claimed.
Mr Smith said: “I spent 15 years in financial services. I used to manage $750m. Me trying to raise $2m to $3m in the first phase of this investment isn’t a challenge. However, in a release to the media on Christmas Eve, Mr Smith was apparently cap in hand looking for investors to fund his PILBC He said in that release: “We strongly believe the timing of a recovering tourism market and high demand are all great signs to support organic growth and sustainability of a sound business. While our initial investment may seem modest to some, we wish to pursue prudent growth modelled around demand and profitability.
at the end of the year,” she added. Ms Mortimer said the bank said they would call her yesterday evening, “so after that I will be able to tell my members what’s going on. We’re waiting and watching.” CIBC First Caribbean was supposed to respond to the industrial action after they had spoken to Ms Mortimer but they have not returned calls to this newspaper up to press time.
By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net
“The investment opportunities for private and institutional investors are limited to mainly traditional equity and debt instruments, as a consequence there is a lot of cash sitting on the sidelines and we are looking to tap into that resource. Our transparency of data, modelling and substantiated market research will help to understand and mitigate risk. The release continued, “Investors seeking diversity and robust cash flows will have the rather unique opportunity to add this to their portfolios. One significant advantage we possess is that investors can see the bricks and mortar
THE Central Bank of The Bahamas is looking to eliminate cheques by the end of 2024 In a release yesterday the bank said: “The Central Bank of the Bahamas (COB) has begun consultations with banks, credit unions and other payment services providers on a strategy to eliminate all use of domestic cheques by the end of 2024. Wider public consultation is also being initiated to ensure that the strategy delivers on outcomes that are efficient, financially inclusive and supportive of further development of the domestic financial system and economy. “Renewed focus on cheques follows discussions with the Ministry of Finance and Clearing Banks during 2020, to set five-year targets to achieve a significant reduction in the use of both cheques and cash in The Bahamas. “In The Bahamas, electronic fund transfers and other non-cash transactions are increasingly substituting for cheque payments. It reflects both payer preferences and deliberate decisions by recipients (individuals, business and the government) to discontinue acceptance of cheques. In addition, the fee structure for electronic settlements has favoured
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How the bounce-back was working before the fourth wave
THE CENTRAL BANK OF THE BAHAMAS
THE Central Bank of The Bahamas’ (CBOB) Monthly Economic and Financial Developments (MEFD) report for November, said tourist arrivals increased by nearly 3,400 percent from 2020. “Preliminary data from the Ministry of Tourism (MOT) showed that total visitor arrivals by first port of entry recovered to 260,942 in October, from 7,666 in the corresponding
period of 2020, when international borders reopened with year to date restrictions,” the bank record. “Contributing to this development, air arrivals rose to 56,875 from a mere 5,502 in the previous year— representing 75.8 percent of the arrivals in 2019. In addition, sea traffic rebounded to 204,067, compared with 2,164 in the prior year. “Disaggregated by major market, total arrivals to
New Providence grew to 140,581 from just 2,359 a year earlier. Underlying this development, the air and sea segments measured 44,083 and 96,498, respectively. Foreign arrivals to Grand Bahama increased to 13,996, compared with only 476 in the preceding year, as air and sea arrivals amounted to 1,407 and
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