The Central Bank of the Bahamas published its Monthly Economic and Financial Developments report for August 2025 and said it will issue these surveillance updates every month, on the Monday following each Monetary Policy Committee meeting, drawing mainly on financial institutions’ daily foreign exchange transaction reports and weekly balance sheet statements. The report points to a continued but slower expansion in domestic activity versus a year earlier, alongside tighter banking system liquidity and a fall in external reserves, and indicates the Bank will retain an accommodative policy stance for private sector credit while monitoring foreign exchange market conditions. Tourism sector earnings growth slowed as stopover activity remained constrained, while the cruise segment continued to post robust gains. For July, total visitor arrivals fell 3.3% year on year to 1.1 million, although year-to-date arrivals increased 8.5% to 7.4 million, driven by a 10.5% rise in sea passengers as air arrivals declined 1.3%. Labour market estimates put the unemployment rate at 10.8% in the first quarter of 2025, up from 9.0% in the prior quarter, with employed persons down to 214,725. In the monetary sector, excess reserves fell BSD 89.2 million in August to BSD 2,008.3 million and excess liquid assets decreased BSD 77.5 million to BSD 3,169.9 million, while external reserves declined BSD 74.7 million to BSD 2,888.0 million. Total Bahamian dollar credit rose BSD 106.2 million, including a BSD 68.6 million increase in private sector credit, and credit quality indicators deteriorated slightly as non-performing loans increased to BSD 317.7 million while the NPL ratio held at 5.3%; the weighted average loan rate decreased 31 basis points to 11.37% and the average deposit rate increased 25 basis points to 0.68%. The Central Bank noted that the monthly estimates may not align with calendar-based figures in its quarterly publications. Future release dates were listed as 3 November, 1 December and 29 December 2025.
Central Bank of the Bahamas 2025-09-29
Central Bank of the Bahamas launches Monthly Economic and Financial Developments series and reports August 2025 liquidity and reserve declines
The Central Bank of the Bahamas released its August 2025 report, noting slower domestic activity, tighter banking liquidity, and declining external reserves. The Bank will maintain an accommodative policy for private sector credit while monitoring foreign exchange. Tourism earnings growth slowed, with visitor arrivals down 3.3% year-on-year in July, and unemployment rose to 10.8% in Q1 2025.