NASSAU, BAHAMAS- The Government’s public sector debt climbed to an estimated $13.55 billion at end-September 2025, reflecting continued expansion in domestic borrowing even as external obligations contracted during the first quarter of the 2025/26 fiscal year.
According to the Ministry of Finance’s Q1 Public Debt Statistical Bulletin, total debt increased by $307.9 million (2.3 percent) over the previous quarter and by $480.7 million (3.7 percent) year-over-year, with central government financing operations remaining the dominant driver of fluctuations in the overall stock.
Foreign currency debt declined by $46.2 million (0.8 percent) to $5.84 billion, lowering its share of the total portfolio to 43.1 percent compared with 44.8 percent a year earlier. In contrast, Bahamian dollar debt grew by $354.1 million (4.8 percent) to $7.71 billion, representing 56.9 percent of total obligations—an increase of 1.7 percentage points year-over-year.
The quarter also saw a significant reduction in debt-servicing costs, which fell to $418.6 million, down $108.6 million (20.6 percent) from the prior year. Bahamian-dollar denominated obligations accounted for 78.2 percent of the total cost, with the remaining 21.8 percent linked to foreign currency liabilities. Principal repayments totaled $297.5 million, while interest payments amounted to $121.1 million, divided between Bahamian dollar (66.4 percent) and foreign currency (33.6 percent) exposures.
Debt composition remained heavily weighted toward Bahamian-dollar obligations, which led at 56.9 percent of the portfolio across six currency categories. USD-denominated debt declined to 37.7 percent of the total compared to the previous quarter. Minor shifts were recorded in exposures to EUR, CNY, CHF and SDR-denominated obligations.
On the creditor side, external debt contracted by $91.5 million (1.7 percent) to $5.31 billion, driven largely by scheduled repayments to financial institutions and multilaterals. Claims by financial institutions fell $46.8 million (3.1 percent), while multilateral exposures declined $36.7 million (2.8 percent). Private capital market creditors, who hold the largest share of external debt, saw a marginal decrease of $5.3 million (0.2 percent) but increased their overall share to 48.1 percent.
Domestic debt expanded modestly by $38.2 million (0.5 percent) to $7.80 billion, mainly due to an $83.5 million (2.8 percent) increase in commercial bank holdings and smaller gains among central government and public corporation creditors. The Central Bank’s share of domestic debt increased to 12.6 percent, while private sector holdings grew by $59.7 million (2.0 percent).
Fixed-rate borrowing continued its steady rise, now representing 66.2 percent of total public debt compared with 60.9 percent a year earlier. The shift reflects the Government’s focus on reducing interest-rate exposure, with fixed-rate domestic debt climbing to 71.2 percent of the local portfolio.
The redemption forecast for the remainder of FY2025/26 includes reissuances of $1.71 billion in Treasury bills, $5.3 million in Treasury notes, and $326.5 million in Central Bank advances. Externally, maturities will remain shaped by the timing of bond repayments, while domestically the Government will continue to roll over medium- and long-term securities.
Central government debt alone stood at $12.07 billion at end-September, up $300.3 million (2.6 percent) over the quarter but down to 73.4 percent of GDP, compared with 74.9 percent one year earlier. External central government debt declined to $5.25 billion, while domestic obligations rose $338.3 million (5.2 percent) to $6.81 billion.
Debt owed by agencies and state-owned enterprises totaled $1.48 billion, reflecting moderate quarterly growth but a stronger year-over-year increase of $67.5 million (4.8 percent). Government-guaranteed debt fell to $315.9 million, a decline of $3.8 million (1.2 percent) since June.
At the bottom of the Bulletin, the Ministry of Finance also reported bilateral loans owed to the Government at $457.2 million, up from the previous quarter’s $429.5 million.
In response to the release of the Public Debt Statistical Bulletin, Free National Movement Leader Michael Pintard reiterated concerns about what he described as unexplained public transfers to an entity identified as Carmichael Village Development Project Ltd.
In a statement Pintard noted that the party had “made a troubling discovery” in the Ministry’s latest bulletin, pointing to “a transfer of an additional $10.2 million dollars of public funds into a company called Carmichael Village Development Project Ltd. This raises the total amount funneled into this phantom entity to $20.2 million dollars.”
Pintard stated: “As Leader of the Free National Movement, I am again forced to raise concerns about how this administration is handling the public’s money. What we are seeing is not an accounting glitch or a simple oversight. These are deliberate transfers taken from the Treasury and placed into a company that does not exist in any legal or operational sense.”
He added that he had repeatedly sought answers from the Prime Minister: “I brought the matter to Parliament in June and received no reply. I wrote to the Prime Minister in July seeking answers. Again, no response.”
According to Pintard: “This so-called company is not registered with the Registrar General. It has no business license, no VAT registration, no board, no management, and no employees. Yet more than $20 million dollars of the people’s money has been placed into it.”
He continued: “Our questions remain: Who received this money? For what purpose? Why did the government hide these transfers from the public?”
Calling the matter “a serious breach of trust,” Pintard said: “The Prime Minister must immediately explain these payments, identify who controls this company, table all related documents, and account for every dollar.”
He concluded: “The Free National Movement will not let this matter rest. This is the people’s money, not the PLP’s private purse.”
