Net income for The Central Bank of The Bahamas more than doubled during the 2011 fiscal year, as the financial institutions saw its profits grow to $5.6 million in the year ended December 31, 2011.
The figure went up from $2.5 million year-on-year, which represented a $3.1 million rise. One of the reasons for the profit jump was due to a 12.7 percent spike in total income from $24.6 million in 2010 to $27.7 million in 2011. The bank also managed to keep its expenses relatively the same from a year ago, only experiencing a $34,000 increase.
Another factor that played a role in the net income rise was the 27.8 percent jump in interest on foreign investments from $12.8 million to $16.4 million year-on-year. Interest on domestic investments grew by 21.5 percent during that period, growing from $7.2 million in 2010 to $8.7 million in 2011.
Total assets were also up during the 2011 fiscal year, rising by 4.2 percent to $1.23 billion from $1.18 billion year-on-year. While some areas in the assets segment of the financial report experienced slight increases and decreases, the major difference came in the Bahamas Government Treasury Bills, where $26.1 million was recorded in 2011 -- where no amount was recorded in 2010.
The figures were revealed in the Central Bank's Annual Report for the 2011 fiscal year, which also uncovered the financial institution's strategy for 2012. Part of its plans for the 2012 fiscal year includes strengthening its monetary policy framework, strengthening and expanding the role of bank supervision, developing financial stability framework and modernizing bank legislation and operations. Under those objectives, the bank hopes to roll out some of its initiatives that have been in the works such as its Credit Bureau project and Risk-Based Supervision Framework (RBSF), among others.
The annual report also provided an economic outlook for 2012, saying while growth is to be expected, it will not come without its fair share of challenges.
"The expansion in the domestic economy is expected to be sustained in 2012, fuelled by construction activity related to several significant foreign investment projects and the public sector's infrastructure development programmes," the report said.
"However, conditions in the job market are expected to remain challenging, until the economic expansion filters down to other sectors, such as personal services and wholesale & retail, which account for the largest share of employment," the report continued. "Inflation rates, which rose steadily in 2011, are likely to persist at current levels, although continuing tensions in the crude oil market could place further upward pressure on fuel costs."

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