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Western Hemisphere > Bahamas, The

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Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Eastern Caribbean Currency Union: Technical Assistance Report-Review of Regulations to New Securities Act and Investment Funds Act
International Monetary Fund. Monetary and Capital Markets Department
At the request of the Eastern Caribbean Securities Regulatory Commission (ECSRC), a Monetary and Capital Markets (MCM) Department mission conducted a review of a draft version of the new Investment Funds Regulations (IFR) and Securities Regulations (SR) form May 20–June 30, 2022. The two sets of regulations are a key part of the new regime to govern the capital markets in the member territories of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU).
Keywords:
Securities bill; ECCU member country; investment funds bill; Securities commission; IOSCO principle; Mutual funds; Securities; Securities regulation; Caribbean
Cover FinTech Notes
Digital Currencies and Energy Consumption
Mr. Itai Agur, Jose Deodoro, Xavier Lavayssière, Soledad Martinez Peria, Mr. Damiano Sandri, Hervé Tourpe, and Mr. German Villegas Bauer
Whether in crypto assets or in CBDCs, design choices can make an important difference to the energy consumption of digital currencies. This paper establishes the main components and technological options that determine the energy profile of digital currencies. It draws on academic and industry estimates to compare digital currencies to each other and to existing payment systems and derives implications for the design of environmentally friendly CBDCs. For distributed ledger technologies, the key factors affecting energy consumption are the ability to control participation and the consensus algorithm. While crypto assets like Bitcoin are wasteful in terms of resources, other designs could be more energy efficient than existing payment systems.
Keywords:
Payments; Energy efficiency; Environmental impact; Crypto assets; Bitcoin; Central Bank Digital Currency; CBDC; Distributed Ledger technology; DLT; CBDC user payment; energy consumption; FINTECH note; title page; user payment; Virtual currencies; Blockchain and DLT; Digital currencies; Central Bank digital currencies; Payment systems; Global
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
The Bahamas: 2022 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for The Bahamas
International Monetary Fund. Western Hemisphere Dept.
The Bahamas is experiencing a tourism-led rebound. Real GDP growth in 2021 was close to 14 percent, as stayover tourist arrivals doubled relative to 2020. The economy is projected to expand by 8 percent in 2022. Nonetheless, it will likely take until 2024 to return to the 2019 level of GDP and the pandemic has given rise to significant human and social costs. The country’s medium-term growth challenges are likely worse than before, and public finances are in a more precarious state. Risks are skewed downwards given a difficult near-term financing situation, rising inflationary—and potentially BOP—pressures because of the war in Ukraine, an ongoing threat from the evolving pandemic, and the country’s high vulnerability to natural disasters.
Keywords:
Bahamian authorities; authorities project; government administration; foreign currency borrowing; IMF's transparency policy; COVID-19; Credit; Global; Caribbean
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
The Bahamas: Selected Issues
International Monetary Fund. Western Hemisphere Dept.
Selected Issues
Keywords:
IMF's transparency policy; policy option; automatic adjustment mechanism; staff team of the International Monetary Fund; debt buffer; Wages; Pensions; Pension spending; Civil service; Retirement; Caribbean
Cover FinTech Notes
Behind the Scenes of Central Bank Digital Currency: Emerging Trends, Insights, and Policy Lessons
Gabriel Soderberg, Ms. Marianne Bechara, Wouter Bossu, Ms. Natasha X Che, Sonja Davidovic, Mr. John Kiff, Ms. Inutu Lukonga, Mr. Tommaso Mancini Griffoli, Tao Sun, and Akihiro Yoshinaga
Central banks are increasingly pondering whether to issue their own digital currencies to the general public, so-called retail central bank digital currency (CBDC). The majority of IMF member countries are actively evaluating CBDCs, with only a few having issued CBDCs or undertaken extensive pilots or tests. This paper shines the spotlight on the handful of countries at the frontier in the hope of identifying and sharing insights, lessons, and open questions for the benefit of the many countries following in their footsteps. Clearly, what can be gleaned from these experiences does not necessarily apply elsewhere. The sample of countries remains small and country circumstances differ widely. However, the insights in this paper may inspire further investigation and allow countries to gain time by building on the experience of others. Importantly, the purpose of this paper is not to evaluate the courses taken by different jurisdictions, but to study and discuss their key experiences and lessons. The paper studies six advanced CBDC projects, drawing on collaboration and exchanges with the respective central banks to get insights beyond what has previously been published. Unless a specific published source is cited, all information stems from interviews and workshops with members of CBDC project teams in each jurisdiction.
Keywords:
digital currency; central banks; fintech; CBDC; cross-border payments; distributed ledger technology; off-line capacity; anonymity; Sand Dollar; e-CNY; DCash; e-krona; e-peso; technology supplier; ensuring resilience; CBDC communication; technology choice; central bank representative; Central Bank digital currencies; Currencies; Blockchain and DLT; Caribbean