John A Rolle: Towards a financial sector disaster recovery plan for The Bahamas

Remarks by Mr John A Rolle, Governor of the Central Bank of The Bahamas, at the Bahamas Business Outlook, Nassau, 16 January 2020.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

Introduction

It is a pleasure to speak at this 29th session of Bahamas Business Outlook. I am continuing with a presentation that was given in Exuma, just weeks after Hurricane Dorian, when our attention to disaster recovery and resilience in the financial sector gained new traction. My focus today is on how the domestic financial sector should be viewed as a supportive force in supporting national recoveries for natural disasters. This ties into policies to sustain and enhance the collective strength of the balance sheets of deposit-taking institutions; reinforcing the role that foreign exchange buffers provide for recoveries and boosting the resilience of household balance sheets. As the public finances improve, so will resiliency prospects, as would initiatives to reduce disaster risk exposures for tourism assets. A central bank digital currency, as encapsulated in the Project Sand Dollar initiative will also promote the resilience most vital in restoring the access and connectivity to financial services after disasters strike.