Turning now to news about the economy and banking - the governor of the Central Bank today held a press conference outlining major Central Bank initiatives. He used to hold them quarterly, but 2024 has been a tough year for the regulator - with a lot of blurred lines to parse through after Stake Bank went into receivership.
So, after all that dust settled, Governor Kareem Michael held the briefing today.
He led with the country's impressive economic growth which outdoes our neighbors and now has Belize's per capita income at 15,500 dollars annually:
Kareem Michael, Governor, Central Bank
"Today, we can confidently say that since the onset of the pandemic and these additional external shocks, our economy has fully recovered. Indeed, real GDP per person in 2023 was above what would have been implied by a continued continuation of pre-pandemic levels."
"So, simply put, if we didn't have the shock, the dotted line here shows that real GDP per capita would have been somewhere around $13,500 per citizen, per person within the population. As it is, we're at some $2,000 above that at $15,500."
"Now, on an annual basis, the Central Bank of Belize projects that the economy will grow to about 7% in 2024. This annual growth of pace is the IMF's projected 2024 growth rates for several Central American and Caribbean countries and is well above the average."
"The average is on the far right. This is again for the Latin American Caribbean region of 2.1% expected overall. Now, that is part of the good news. The other part is that inflation pressures have weakened and it is now trending downward."
"Now, while growth in real GDP terms along with the rise in minimum wage have helped to raise income, rising costs have partially offset these income gains for many Belizean households. Belizeans have faced tough trade-offs to stretch their dollar as they navigate trying to maintain living standards and manage expenses."
"Now, inflation has retreated from its 2022 peak of 6.3%. We are the red dotted line to 3.6% in September. It is expected to dip further to around 3% or below in 2025."
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