• Proven Group decided to cease the operations of Proven Wealth (Bermuda) and PROVEN Wealth (BVI), which never fully recovered from the impact of COVID-19.
• Instead, the company will concentrate on territories where they have significant operational presence, namely Cayman, St Lucia, Jamaica, and Barbados. This decision is intended to optimise its Wealth Management business model and ultimately enhance its operational efficiency.
• Additionally, Proven appointed Stacy Belnavis as the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Proven Bank. Belnavis’ appointment is anticipated to drive a renewed focus on PROVEN Bank’s core financial strengths in banking and wealth management. The overarching strategy involves consolidating wealth management, including financial advisory services, into PROVEN Bank (Cayman) Limited, pending regulatory approval.
• Proven’s stock price closed at $18.54, reflecting a 17.6% decline since the start of the calendar year. This reflects its year-to-date performance, which shows a 65.2% drop in earnings.

(Source: JSE & NCBCM Research)

• The U.S. Export-Import Bank approved a $526Mn loan to Guyana for an energy project designed to double the South American country's installed electric capacity and reduce oil imports, the Guyanese government and Ex-Im said on Thursday.
• The project, which falls under Ex-Im's mandate to help exporters facing competition from China, will use natural gas-powered turbines to generate electricity, Ex-Im said.
• It further noted that the project will reduce more than 460,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year or the equivalent of consuming more than 1Bn barrels of oil.
• According to Ex-Im, the loan will support a joint venture that involves Texas-based Lindsayca and Puerto Rican firm CH4 Systems, with services provided by ExxonMobil and will create 1,500 jobs across 11 states and territories. These two companies had faced direct competition from China to win the Guyana contract.
• The project will include the construction of a natural gas separation plant, a 300 MW combined-cycle gas turbine power plant and a gas supply pipeline near Guyana’s capital, Georgetown.

(Source: Reuters)

• The Central Bank of The Bahamas, in its Monthly Economic and Financial Developments (MEFD) report for November, revealed that visitor arrivals in October expanded thanks to the cruise sector. Cruise arrivals grew by 25.2% year-on-year and outweighed a 9.4% decrease in stopover numbers relative to the same period last year.
• September and October are traditionally slow periods for the hospitality industry, though last year was an exception, due to revenge travel, following the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The MEFD report notes that “sea arrivals grew by 41.7% to 0.3Mn; however, air traffic declined by 9.3% to 69,109 from the year earlier. In addition, arrivals to the Family Islands strengthened by 19.2% to 0.4Mn, relative to the preceding year, led by a 20.9% expansion in sea traffic to 0.4Mn, which contrasted with the 17.0% contraction in air traffic to 11,036.”
• The report further stated, “Providing some offset, total visitors to Grand Bahama decreased by 27.6% to 27,605 vis-à-vis the prior year, as sea arrivals fell by 31.5% to 24,487, overshadowing the 29.3% growth in the air component to 3,118”. Overall, on a year-to-date basis, total arrivals grew by 16.6% to 9.1Mn, in comparison to the previous year.
• Minister of Tourism, Investments and Aviation, Chester Cooper has stated that stopover arrivals are being stunted by the lack of accommodation in the country. He has called for new hotel rooms, and for more locals to develop short-term vacation rentals.

(Source: Nassau Guardian)

• Chinese authorities have agreed to issue 3 Trillion yuan (¥3Tn or US$411Bn) worth of special treasury bonds next year, two sources said. The issue would be the highest on record, as Beijing ramps up fiscal stimulus to revive a faltering economy.
• The plan for 2025 sovereign debt issuance would be a sharp increase from this year's ¥1Tn and comes as Beijing moves to soften the blow from an expected increase in U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports when Donald Trump takes office in January.
• The proceeds will be primarily targeted at boosting consumption via subsidy programmes, business equipment upgrades and funding investments in innovation-driven advanced sectors.
• The issuance "exceeded market expectations," said Tommy Xie, head of Asia Macro research at OCBC Bank. China does not generally include ultra-long special bonds in annual budget plans, as it sees the instruments as an extraordinary measure to raise proceeds for specific projects or policy goals as needed.
• As part of next year's plan, China plans to raise ¥1.3Tn through special treasury bonds to fund two "major projects" and two "new schemes". The major projects will focus on national infrastructure and security, while the new schemes offer subsidies for consumer trade-ins and business equipment upgrades.
• According to China’s state planner NDRC, the government had fully allocated the proceeds from this year's ¥1Tn, with about 70% of proceeds financing the "two major" projects and the remainder going towards the "two new" schemes.

(Source: Reuters)

• Major banks and business groups sued the Federal Reserve on Tuesday, alleging the U.S. central bank's annual "stress tests" of Wall Street firms violate the law.
• The lawsuit, claims the Fed's practice of determining how big banks perform against hypothetical economic turmoil and assigning capital requirements accordingly, does not follow proper administrative procedure. Plaintiffs included the Bank Policy Institute, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Bank Association.
• The lawsuit marks the latest example of the banking industry growing bolder and challenging in court their regulators' powers. Notably, recent Supreme Court rulings have placed fresh restrictions on administrative authority. The latest ruling in June dealt a major blow to such power by overturning a 1984 precedent that granted deference to government agencies in interpreting laws they administer.
• Specifically, the groups are calling for the Fed to make public and subject to feedback the now-confidential models used to gauge bank performance, as well as details of the annual scenarios they create to test for weaknesses.
• The groups said they did not want to kill the stress testing program, which provides an annual bill of health to the nation's biggest firms, but argued the process needs to be more transparent and responsive to public feedback.
• On Monday, the Fed announced plans to pursue similar changes ahead of the 2025 exams, citing recent legal developments, but the industry opted to proceed with its lawsuit.
• These tests, which banks have complained for years are opaque and subjective, are a central piece of the U.S. regulatory bank-capital structure. The Fed has long resisted calls to open up the testing process, due to concerns that it could make it easier for banks to clear the exams.
• How banks perform on the test informs how much capital they must set aside to meet their obligations and dictates the scope of dividend payouts and stock buybacks.

(Source: Reuters)

• FirstRock Real Estate Investments, through its subsidiary FirstRock Capital Cayman, has successfully acquired a majority stake in the renowned Crown Square Commercial Complex, along with an adjacent commercial tower, for a total equivalent of J$1.7Bn.
• This acquisition represents the company’s largest transaction to date, highlighting its strategic commitment to expanding investments in premium, income-generating properties across the Caribbean and Latin America.
• The Crown Square Commercial Complex, situated in the heart of Georgetown, the capital city of the Cayman Islands, continues to experience strong demand for retail and office spaces. This acquisition features prime tenants, including government agencies and a communication tower fully leased to Digicel – a leading telecommunications provider in the region.
• The transaction, primarily financed by Cayman National Bank, represents a major milestone as FirstRock continues its efforts to diversify and expand its real estate portfolio across the Cayman Islands and other Caribbean and Latin American markets.
• This transaction marks FirstRock’s second investment in the Cayman Islands, following its 2021 acquisition of five residential condominiums, which were later divested at a profit.
• FirstRock’s stock price closed at $9.89, up 28.8% since the start of the calendar year despite booking a net loss of $229.72Mn for 9M 2024.

(Sources: JSE & NCBCM Research)

• United Oil & Gas plc, a London-based oil and gas exploration firm, is planning to raise £700,000 (approximately J$140Mn) through a share offer to support its operations, including activities in Jamaica.
• The company intends to seek shareholder approval for certain resolutions related to this fundraising at its upcoming annual general meeting in January.
• Earlier this month, United Oil & Gas suspended all non-core activities to preserve cash, including deferring discussions with potential offshore drilling partners in Jamaica until 2025. The decision to seek capital from the market reflects the company's strategy to bolster its financial position during this period.
• The Jamaican asset is a key opportunity for United Oil & Gas. An independent estimate valued its most promising reservoir at US$23Bn, with the potential to extract crude oil over 25 years. United has been exploring offshore Jamaica for several years but scaled back its operations this year after exiting Egypt due to currency-related challenges.
• United Oil & Gas has one year remaining on its two-year license extension, which expires in January 2026. The company is licensed to explore 22,400 square kilometres offshore along Jamaica’s southern coast, specifically in the Walton-Morant zone. In its exploration efforts, the company has conducted a series of 2D and 3D seismic surveys, which have uncovered substances resembling oil.
• However, to confirm whether the substances are crude oil or underground water, the company requires a test drill. This exploration effort remains a pivotal component of United’s strategy, given the substantial potential value of the Jamaican asset.

(Source: Caribbean National Weekly)

• Barbados has secured a fresh injection of US$56Mn ($112Mn) from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as the country continues to impress international partners with its homegrown economic recovery and transformation plan (BERT 2022) and climate policy agenda.
• The new disbursement also includes US$19Mn ($38Mn) under the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and US$37Mn ($74Mn) under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), bringing the combined total payout to some US$242Mn. This financial injection further supports the government’s economic recovery and climate resilience efforts.
• In its review, the IMF praised the progress of the BERT 2022 and what it described as the island’s ambitious climate policy agenda. The release highlighted the expansion of the country’s economy by 3.9% between January and September 2024, driven by growth in tourism, business services, and construction.
• Despite these positive developments, the IMF acknowledged ongoing vulnerabilities. “While the outlook is positive, Barbados remains vulnerable to global shocks, climate change, and natural disasters, as demonstrated by Hurricane Beryl,” IMF Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair, Bo Li noted, highlighting the damage it caused to the fishing sector and coastal infrastructure.
• On the other hand, he noted that the Central Bank of Barbados has adopted a strategy to monitor and assess climate change risks, safeguarding financial stability and resilience.
• The IMF’s top official further praised the government’s efforts to mobilise international financing, including the innovative debt-for-climate swap, which will generate savings for water supply resilience, environmental sustainability and food security investments.  

(Source: Barbados Today)

• d a current account deficit of $3.1Bn in November, the central bank said on Monday, widening the 12-month shortfall mainly due to a weaker trade surplus.
• Over the 12-month period, the current account deficit rose to 2.37% of gross domestic product (GDP), doubling the level seen a year ago. The widening deficit reflects Brazil's stronger-than-expected economic performance, which has boosted imports and reduced the trade surplus.
• Finance Minister Fernando Haddad has estimated this year's economic growth at 3.5% - a sharp contrast to the 1.6% expansion projected by private economists at the beginning of the year. The robust economic activity has also driven up net spending on services and widened the deficit in factor payments, contributing to the larger current account gap.
• In November, the trade surplus reached $6.3Bn, a 20.9% drop from a year earlier. The deficit in services rose 24.6% to $4.7Bn, while the factor payments deficit increased 13.8% to $5Bn.
• Foreign direct investment (FDI) for the month totaled $7Bn, exceeding the $6.5Bn forecast in the Reuters poll. Over the 12-month period, FDI stands at 3.0% of GDP.

(Source: Reuters)

• The U.S. Congress early on Saturday passed a measure to boost Social Security retirement payments to some retirees who draw public pensions - such as former police and firefighters - which critics warned will further weaken the program's finances.
• The Senate in a 76-20 bipartisan vote shortly after midnight approved the Social Security Fairness Act, which would repeal two-decades-old provisions that can reduce benefits for people who also receive a pension.
• Last month, the House of Representatives approved the bill in a 327-75 vote, meaning the Senate approval sends it to Democratic President Joe Biden to sign into law.
• The bill will overturn a decades-old change to the program that limited federal benefits to some higher-earning workers with pensions. Over time, growing numbers of municipal employees such as firefighters and postal workers also saw their payments capped.
• Most Americans do not participate in pension plans, which pay a defined benefit, and instead are dependent on what money they can save and Social Security. Just one in ten U.S. private sector workers have pension plans, according to Labor Department data.
• The new provisions impact about 3% of Social Security beneficiaries - totalling a little more than 2.5Mn Americans - and the workers and retirees affected by these provisions are key constituencies for lawmakers and their powerful advocacy groups have pushed for a legislative fix.
• Some of them could receive hundreds of dollars more a month in federal benefits as a result of the bill, retirement experts said. Some federal budget experts, however, warned the change could hurt the program's already shaky finances as the bill's price tag is approximately US$196Bn over the next decade, according to an analysis by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office

(Source: Reuters)