The State of the Bahamian Economy: By Governor John A Rolle*

Published: Wednesday September 14th, 2022

The State of the Bahamian Economy

By

Governor John A Rolle*

*As prepared for delivery

The Nassau Conference

14 September 2022

Introduction

I thank the organizers of the Nassau Conference for inviting me to speak on the State of the Bahamian Economy. You have asked me to give some coverage to the economic outlook, policy considerations, the state of the foreign reserves and structural reforms. These are interrelated topics that should be covered in any constructive discussion on the economy. As regards the policy considerations, I will try to limit my scope to the subset of issues around which the Central Bank can contribute to support the medium and longer-term environment for growth.

The Nassau Conference puts the spotlight on how The Bahamas can, in a reputable and competitive way, sustain and grow the economic contributions of international financial services. This should be viewed as similar to how tourism and our other economic sectors are nurtured. How the domestic financial services interface with this business model is, therefore, important for the ease of doing international business. Similarly, separate from the products inspired through financial services laws and regulations, other domestic side policies have an impact on the agility and competitiveness of the sector, as they do the economy in general. It is because, in order to do business from here, firms must maintain a physical presence inside the jurisdiction.

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