NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Foreign currency outflows increased by nearly $220 million in January, with oil imports increasing by some $44 million for that month, according to recently released data from the Central Bank.
The regulator in its monthly economy and financial developments report for February noted that data on foreign currency sales for current account transactions for the month of January, revealed a $218.1 million expansion in outflows, to $556.2 million, vis-à-vis the same period of the preceding year, reflecting growth across almost all categories.
“Specifically, “other” current items moved higher by $97.3 million—largely reflecting a rise in credit and debit card transactions—while non-oil imports and oil imports rose by $51.6 million and by $44.1 million, respectively. Likewise, factor income payments grew by $23.4 million and travel related transactions, by $3.2 million. Providing a modest offset, foreign currency sales for transfer payments decreased by $1.5 million,” the Central Bank reported.
According to the Central Bank, during the review month, the country’s external reserves decreased by $41.7 million to $2,417.5 million, but was lower than the $60.7 million reduction a year earlier.
“Underlying this outturn, the Central Bank’s transactions with commercial banks, switched to a net purchase of $48.2 million, vis-à-vis a net sale of $32.8 million in the preceding year. Further, commercial banks net intake from customers broadened to $73.7 million from just $4.6 million in the same period of the previous year. Meanwhile, the Central Bank’s net sale to the public sector widened to $89.2 million from $29.9 million a year earlier,” the regulator stated.
The Central Bank also noted that commercial bank’s credit quality indicators weakened during the month of January, largely attributed to a rise in non-performing loans (NPLs).
“In particular, total private sector arrears rose by $5.3 million (0.7 percent) to $785.1 million, elevating the attendant ratio by 13 basis points to 14.4 percent,” the report read.
“Disaggregated by the average age of delinquency, NPLs grew by $7.0 million (1.3 percent) to $534.9 million, resulting in the accompanying ratio moving higher by 15 basis points to 9.8 percent—with increases in the NPL rates for consumer loans, by 29 basis points to 10.2 percent; mortgages, by 7 basis points to 11 percent and commercial loans by 7 basis points to 5.4 percent,” the Central Bank noted.
According to the regulator, consumer arrears increased by $8.5 million (3.2 percent) to $278.5 million, as both the long and short-term components rose by $4.7 million (2.3 percent) and by $3.8 million (5.6 percent), respectively. Likewise, mortgage delinquencies grew by $5.2 million (1.2 percent) to $443.6 million, with the short-term segment increasing by $3.6 million (2.2 percent), while the non-accruals category moved higher by $1.6 million (0.6 percent).
During the review month, banks wrote-off an estimated $5.1 million in overdue loans, and recovered $3 million.
