Banker to Banks

The Prime Rate is the lowest rate of interest charged by commercial banks on loans to their best customers. The Prime Rate is used as a base from which interest rates on loans to the private sector are determined. Although this rate is set by the commercial banks themselves, a clear linkage to the Central Bank's Discount Rate can be observed, reflecting banks' response to changes in Central Bank monetary measures.

There are eight commercial banks in The Bahamas, three of which are Bahamian owned. These are Citibank N.A., FirstCaribbean International Bank (Bahamas) Ltd., The Finance Corporation of Bahamas (FINCO), RBC Royal Bank (Bahamas) Limited, and Scotiabank (Bahamas) Limited. Bahamian-owned commercial banks are Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) Ltd., the Bank of The Bahamas Ltd. and Commonwealth Bank Ltd.

A commercial bank is a bank whose main functions are to accept demand deposits and to make loans, thereby facilitating the transfer of funds in the economy. Typically, commercial banks make loans to business firms, private individuals, and government related entities. They also issue time and savings deposits and operate trust departments. Though commercial banks do not issue currency, they do issue money in the form of demand deposits, hence they have the power of creating and destroying money.

This practice was discontinued a number of years ago. The check clearing process is now facilitated through the Automated Clearing House (ACH).