Renowned global finance magazine, The Banker, recently recognized CIBC FirstCaribbean as ‘Bank of the Year’ for continuously striving to offer its clients the best services and experience in The Bahamas while delivering returns and gaining strategic advantage.

The prestigious award marks an eleventh win for the bank within the last 16 years and highlights recent accomplishments such as the launch of CIBC FirstCaribbean’s MasterCard Black Credit Card, smart automated banking machine installations and its 1st Insights Personal Financing Model.

Dr. Jacqui Bend, CIBC FirstCaribbean’s Managing Director, said, “The bank will continue its digitisation road map and streamlining activities. There will be a greater focus on growth, maintaining overall credit quality, managing costs, enhancing our client relationships and investing in our employees.”

The Banker, which is a part of the Financial Times Group publishing house, does not focus on figures alone, but rather looks for evidence of banks raising the bar for their local industries in the past twelve months, whether by using new technology or coming up with innovative, cost-efficient ways of expanding their businesses. 

The Banker’s research staff compiles a list of major banks in countries across the globe and invites them to participate in the awards. Each bank is required to submit an entry form containing up-to-date financial figures and to answer, in detail, questions about performance technology, innovation and marketing initiatives. 

Nikia Chrisite, CIBC First Caribbean’s Marketing Manager, said receiving the Bank of the Year award reflects CIBC FirstCaribbean’s values of trust, teamwork and accountability, and deserves celebration.

“At CIBC FirstCaribbean, we pay special attention to our clients, build on our technology base to create a modern digital experience, simplify the way we do business and invest in our people. This recognition by The Banker reflects what is being done to keep CIBC FirstCaribbean as the best choice for banking services.”

CIBC FirstCaribbean also won Bank of the Year in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2020.

 

Renowned global finance magazine, The Banker, recently recognized CIBC FirstCaribbean as ‘Bank of the Year’ for continuously striving to offer its clients the best services and experience in The Bahamas while delivering returns and gaining strategic advantage. The prestigious award marks an eleventh win for the bank within the last 16 years and highlights recent accomplishments such as the launch of CIBC FirstCaribbean’s MasterCard Black Credit Card, smart automated banking machine installations and its 1st Insights Personal Financing Model. Dr. Jacqui Bend, CIBC FirstCaribbean’s Managing Director, said, “The bank will continue its digitisation road map and streamlining activities. There will be a greater focus on growth, maintaining overall credit quality, managing costs, enhancing our client relationships and investing in our employees.” The Banker, which is a part of the Financial Times Group publishing house, does not focus on figures alone, but rather looks for evidence of banks raising the bar for their local industries in the past twelve months, whether by using new technology or coming up with innovative, cost-efficient ways of expanding their businesses.  The Banker’s research staff compiles a list of major banks in countries across the globe and invites them to participate in the awards. Each bank is required to submit an entry form containing up-to-date financial figures and to answer, in detail, questions about performance technology, innovation and marketing initiatives.  Nikia Chrisite, CIBC First Caribbean’s Marketing Manager, said receiving the Bank of the Year award reflects CIBC FirstCaribbean’s values of trust, teamwork and accountability, and deserves celebration. “At CIBC FirstCaribbean, we pay special attention to our clients, build on our technology base to create a modern digital experience, simplify the way we do business and invest in our people. This recognition by The Banker reflects what is being done to keep CIBC FirstCaribbean as the best choice for banking services.” CIBC FirstCaribbean also won Bank of the Year in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2020.

Addressing a forum in Washington, D.C., yesterday, Prime Minister Philip Davis defended Bahamian regulators and declared that the legislative regime The Bahamas has in place "saved the day" for investors into the now-collapsed Bahamas-based FTX cryptocurrency exchange.

Davis, who delivered a speech to Atlantic Council, an American think tank, was asked what steps his country is taking to work with US regulatory bodies following the FTX failure and what some of the lessons are moving forward.

Davis did not point to any lessons learned, but said the "FTX challenge is nothing new".

"There would have been collaboration between our regulatory bodies, between both countries before in other similar instances where banks collapsed back in the day and major multinational companies would have collapsed," he said. "We would have cooperated in that area. The difference here is that we were in a different space, the crypto digital space. And fortunately, we do have a legislative regime that is in place.

"Our regulatory body worked very closely with the US regulatory bodies in all these, in various matters.

"They collaborate very often in matters of concern, that's cross-border issues, and so when the FTX issue arose, it was because of our regulatory regime that allowed us to move quickly to preserve assets for participants in the FTX business and we were able to move quickly, more quickly than even the US, and I daresay that perhaps our regulatory regime in respect to this space is probably more modern than the US.

"And so, we would have found that the CEO that was appointed after the Chapter 11 filings eventually had to come around to accept that what we were doing, that what we had done, was appropriate and perhaps has saved the day for many of the investors in the FTX."

The prime minister added, "We continue to work with our regulatory partners around the world to ensure, because, at the end of the day, the regulatory regime is to keep out bad actors, to protect investors and to ensure that the integrity of our jurisdiction maintains its probity."

After weeks of verbal sparring, the Bahamian liquidators of FTX Digital Markets (the FTX entity incorporated in The Bahamas) and the new CEO of FTX's US companies John Ray III reached an agreement on January 6 over access to data.

Public utterances of mistrust had been made by FTX's lawyers in court, by Ray in the US Congress, and repeated on radio, news broadcasts and print media for weeks.

Though The Bahamas has faced strong criticism in many spheres on the FTX matter, the Davis administration has maintained the position that the strength of the country's regulatory regime allowed it to respond appropriately after FTX imploded.

In his first public statements since the collapse of FTX, Davis said in the House of Assembly on November 16 that based on the analysis and understanding of the FTX liquidity crisis, "we have not identified any deficiencies in our regulatory framework that could have avoided this".

"In fact, it was because The Bahamas already had in place a regulatory framework for digital assets and digital assets businesses that the regulator was able to take immediate steps in order to protect the interests of clients, creditors, and other stakeholders globally," the prime minister said.

In a major address on November 27, Attorney General Ryan Pinder also defended the work of regulators.

"We have been shocked at the ignorance of those who assert that FTX came to The Bahamas because they did not want to submit to regulatory scrutiny; in fact, the world is full of countries in which there is no legislative or regulatory authority over crypto, but The Bahamas is not one of them," Pinder said.

"We have been able to assert our leadership in this new field because in the digital assets arena, what matters is not the size of your land mass, or the size of your GDP, but the ingenuity and rigor of your people and jurisdiction."

The Securities Commission of The Bahamas (SCB) has also been on the defensive in some instances, responding repeatedly to misinformation it said has been put into the public domain by Ray and attorneys for FTX US debtors.

The SCB also informed on December 29 that it is holding $3.5 billion worth of digital assets it recovered from FTX Digital Markets (FTXDM) with the help of FTX founders Sam Bankman-Fried and Gary Wang in the days after FTX's collapse.

FTXDM is not a part of the Chapter 11 proceedings in the US.

It is being liquidated in The Bahamas under the oversight of the joint provisional liquidators (JPLs).

Ray previously accused the JPLs and the SCB of working with Bankman-Fried to undermine the Chapter 11 proceedings.

In a 500-page affidavit filed late last month, Securities Commission Executive Director Christina Rolle defended the work of the commission and denied Ray's assertions.

FTXDM was incorporated in The Bahamas in July 2021, and registered as a digital asset business under the Digital Assets and Registered Exchanges Act.

In September 2021, the Securities Commission approved FTXDM's license to operate.

Davis said in November he is confident that The Bahamas will emerge from the proceedings involving FTX "with an enhanced reputation as a solid digital assets jurisdiction".

 

Representatives of a cross-section of government agencies including permanent secretaries, directors, and financial officers participated in the third Steering Committee Meeting with respect to the IDB project, 'Reconstruction with Resilience in the Energy Sector in The Bahamas' on Thursday, January 12, 2023. Simon Wilson, Financial Secretary, chaired the meeting held at the Ministry of Finance. Also in attendance were Marco Rolle, Programme Coordinator; Elise Delancy, Communications and Training Specialist; Daniela Carrera-Marquis, IDB Country Representative/Bahamas and officials from the Project Execution Unit of the Ministry of Finance. Representatives of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and government officials joined the meeting virtually. During the 2-hour long meeting reports (financial included) and updates on current projects were presented on the $80 million IDB loan programme which is supplemented with a $9 million grant provided by the European Union (EU). In August 2020, an $80 million loan was executed with IDB for the “Reconstruction with Resilience in the Energy Sector in The Bahamas”. The objective of the loan is to support the Government with the rehabilitation of critical energy infrastructure and restoration of electricity service in islands heavily-affected by Hurricane Dorian, while facilitating the integration of Renewable Energy (RE). Specific objectives are to: (i)  Support the rehabilitation of the electricity transmission and distribution system and installation of new and resilient RE capacity in Abaco and East Grand Bahama; (ii)  Promote the adoption of solar PV technologies in the Family Islands; and (iii)  Contribute to the improvement of the regulatory framework for RE technologies and the mechanisms for its deployment.   In March, 2022 the government signed a $9 million contract funded by the EU in partnership with the IDB to assist in the expanded use of clean, renewable energy, and promote post-hurricane “Reconstruction with Resilience” in The Bahamas.    Ms. Carrera-Marquis said discussions centered on the execution of all projects related to RE in The Bahamas in an effort to get closer to the target of 30% of RE in 2030.   She said, “We have been working on this project since 2020 and this includes not only RE in New Providence and the Family Islands, also the reconstruction of some of the assets destroyed by [Hurricane] Dorian in Abaco and East Grand Bahama.   “For the Family Islands the solution identified is solar micro grids that would be more resilient in case of hurricanes and that would restore in full the capacity of both islands. For New Providence, it’s more about roof tops of public buildings, schools and eventually some clinics. “The work has already started and were almost half-way on the execution. This year is going to be very critical for the micro grids in the Family Islands. “A lot of things are going on and we have really have advanced a lot in the capacity of not only planning and seeing this from a strategic point of view, but adding all the elements between the renewable, the electric mobility, the shifting for the dependence on fuel and then obviously the building up on the resilient factor, which is so important for The Bahamas given the propensity of natural disasters. You want to make sure you have all of these components in order to have a more resilient system for the energy, and eventually a lower cost for the people of The Bahamas.” 

Representatives of a cross-section of government agencies including permanent secretaries, directors, and financial officers participated in the third Steering Committee Meeting with respect to the IDB project, 'Reconstruction with Resilience in the Energy Sector in The Bahamas' on Thursday, January 12, 2023.

Simon Wilson, Financial Secretary, chaired the meeting held at the Ministry of Finance. Also in attendance were Marco Rolle, Programme Coordinator; Elise Delancy, Communications and Training Specialist; Daniela Carrera-Marquis, IDB Country Representative/Bahamas and officials from the Project Execution Unit of the Ministry of Finance. Representatives of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and government officials joined the meeting virtually.

During the 2-hour long meeting reports (financial included) and updates on current projects were presented on the $80 million IDB loan programme which is supplemented with a $9 million grant provided by the European Union (EU).

In August 2020, an $80 million loan was executed with IDB for the “Reconstruction with Resilience in the Energy Sector in The Bahamas”.
The objective of the loan is to support the Government with the rehabilitation of critical energy infrastructure and restoration of electricity service in islands heavily-affected by Hurricane Dorian, while facilitating the integration of Renewable Energy (RE).

Specific objectives are to:

(i) Support the rehabilitation of the electricity transmission and distribution system and installation of new and resilient RE capacity in Abaco and East Grand Bahama;

(ii) Promote the adoption of solar PV technologies in the Family Islands; and

(iii) Contribute to the improvement of the regulatory framework for RE technologies and the mechanisms for its deployment.

In March, 2022 the government signed a $9 million contract funded by the EU in partnership with the IDB to assist in the expanded use of clean, renewable energy, and promote post-hurricane “Reconstruction with Resilience” in The Bahamas. 

Ms. Carrera-Marquis said discussions centered on the execution of all projects related to RE in The Bahamas in an effort to get closer to the target of 30% of RE in 2030.

She said, “We have been working on this project since 2020 and this includes not only RE in New Providence and the Family Islands, also the reconstruction of some of the assets destroyed by [Hurricane] Dorian in Abaco and East Grand Bahama.

“For the Family Islands the solution identified is solar micro grids that would be more resilient in case of hurricanes and that would restore in full the capacity of both islands. For New Providence, it’s more about roof tops of public buildings, schools and eventually some clinics.

“The work has already started and were almost half-way on the execution. This year is going to be very critical for the micro grids in the Family Islands.

“A lot of things are going on and we have really have advanced a lot in the capacity of not only planning and seeing this from a strategic point of view, but adding all the elements between the renewable, the electric mobility, the shifting for the dependence on fuel and then obviously the building up on the resilient factor, which is so important for The Bahamas given the propensity of natural disasters. You want to make sure you have all of these components in order to have a more resilient system for the energy, and eventually a lower cost for the people of The Bahamas.” 

 

FREE National Movement leader Michael Pintard said the country stands "to lose up to $60 million in uncollected fines" because the Davis administration has failed to act on environmental laws and punish polluters.

He was speaking in reference to the recent sinking of cargo ship Onega Traveller in waters off Abaco and last summer’s spill of more than 30,000 gallons of fuel in Exuma waters. #“We demand that the government enforce the environmental laws of The Bahamas, which they met in place,” Mr Pintard said in a statement yesterday. #He referred to the Environmental Planning & Protection Act 2019 and the Ministry of Environment Act 2019, which he said empowers the Attorney General and the Minister of Environment to act when environmental incidents happen. #“Additionally, they provide for up to $30m to be levied in fines for each incident. These laws are based on the legal principle ‘the polluter pays.’ The sinking of mv Onego off the coast of South Abaco is the second such environmental incident where this administration so far has refused to enforce the country’s environmental laws and impose fines. The first incident occurred in Exuma when 30,000 gallons of toxic diesel fuel oil was released directly into the sea, by MT Arabian, a Sun Oil/FOCOL contractor. # “To date it appears that the government stubbornly refuses to enforce our laws and impose the fines commensurate with the environmental damage caused. Just like in the first incident, mv Onego is spilling chemicals directly into the waters of South Abaco. This time instead of diesel, heavy fuel oil and ferix are being released. Ferix is used as a fertiliser and for water treatment. “Both chemicals are potentially deadly to marine life and shoreline birds. What makes this situation so worrisome is that in addition to spilling chemicals, the vessel itself will cause physical damage and severe breakage to any stony corals in its wake. The government continues to follow the abysmal environmental track record established by previous PLP administrations,” Mr Pintard said. # He said the FNM demands that Attorney General Ryan Pinder “explain if he has or why he has not instructed legal action be commenced against the owners of the MT Arabian and MV Onego for environmental damage.” # He also said: “The country now stands to lose up to $60 million in uncollected fines because of this administration’s failure to act. A repeated pattern has emerged; environmental offenders get off free to the detriment of the Public Treasury. We remind Prime Minister Davis that environmental responsibility goes beyond speeches and travel opportunities.” # Last week the Transport and Housing Ministry said remediation efforts of the Onego Traveller are continuing, adding 3,119 tons of steel coils and 4,505 tons of Ferix in bulk remained submerged. # The ministry said that steps to address the sunken cargo ship were still active. On December 29, 2022, Onego Traveller sank with heavy fuel onboard. # The Bahamas National Trust has also expressed concern about the sunken ship and its effect on the marine environment. # In July, 35,000 gallons of diesel spilled into waters off an Exuma bay as a vessel contracted by Sun Oil was offloading fuel to Bahamas Power and Light at George Town.

He was speaking in reference to the recent sinking of cargo ship Onega Traveller in waters off Abaco and last summer’s spill of more than 30,000 gallons of fuel in Exuma waters.

“We demand that the government enforce the environmental laws of The Bahamas, which they met in place,” Mr Pintard said in a statement yesterday.

He referred to the Environmental Planning & Protection Act 2019 and the Ministry of Environment Act 2019, which he said empowers the Attorney General and the Minister of Environment to act when environmental incidents happen.

“Additionally, they provide for up to $30m to be levied in fines for each incident. These laws are based on the legal principle ‘the polluter pays.’ The sinking of mv Onego off the coast of South Abaco is the second such environmental incident where this administration so far has refused to enforce the country’s environmental laws and impose fines. The first incident occurred in Exuma when 30,000 gallons of toxic diesel fuel oil was released directly into the sea, by MT Arabian, a Sun Oil/FOCOL contractor.

“To date it appears that the government stubbornly refuses to enforce our laws and impose the fines commensurate with the environmental damage caused. Just like in the first incident, mv Onego is spilling chemicals directly into the waters of South Abaco. This time instead of diesel, heavy fuel oil and ferix are being released. Ferix is used as a fertiliser and for water treatment. “Both chemicals are potentially deadly to marine life and shoreline birds. What makes this situation so worrisome is that in addition to spilling chemicals, the vessel itself will cause physical damage and severe breakage to any stony corals in its wake. The government continues to follow the abysmal environmental track record established by previous PLP administrations,” Mr Pintard said.

He said the FNM demands that Attorney General Ryan Pinder “explain if he has or why he has not instructed legal action be commenced against the owners of the MT Arabian and MV Onego for environmental damage.”

He also said: “The country now stands to lose up to $60 million in uncollected fines because of this administration’s failure to act. A repeated pattern has emerged; environmental offenders get off free to the detriment of the Public Treasury. We remind Prime Minister Davis that environmental responsibility goes beyond speeches and travel opportunities.”

Last week the Transport and Housing Ministry said remediation efforts of the Onego Traveller are continuing, adding 3,119 tons of steel coils and 4,505 tons of Ferix in bulk remained submerged.

The ministry said that steps to address the sunken cargo ship were still active. On December 29, 2022, Onego Traveller sank with heavy fuel onboard.

The Bahamas National Trust has also expressed concern about the sunken ship and its effect on the marine environment.

In July, 35,000 gallons of diesel spilled into waters off an Exuma bay as a vessel contracted by Sun Oil was offloading fuel to Bahamas Power and Light at George Town.