Two bills – one to amend the Banks and Trust Companies Regulations Act and the other to amend The Central Bank Act – are currently before Parliament for review and will be tabled in the House shortly.
“If we will be competitive, we have to respond to market forces,” said Brian Moree, Chairman of the Financial Services Consultative Com-mittee. Moree added that change was a key factor in a dynamic private wealth management industry. If the House passes the proposed amendments to the legislation, Moree said it could help financial services upgrade the private wealth management products offered in The Bahamas, as well as help to ensure that private wealth management clients in this jurisdiction are properly serviced.
If the new Banks and Trust Companies Regulation (A-mendment) Act, 2006 were passed, The Central Bank Governor would have the power to exempt private trust companies from licensing requirements under the current Banks and Trust Companies Regulation Act, 2000. However, private trust companies would be subject to an approvals process under the Central Bank.
The Central Bank Governor would also have the power to “withdraw the exemption and publish Notice of withdrawal in the Gazette.” If the other bills were passed in the House, the new financial legislation would include the Banks and Trust Companies (Private Trust Companies) Regulations, 2006 and the Central Bank of The Bahamas (Amendment) Act, 2006.
Rowena Bethel, Legal advisor at the Ministry of Finance commented that this move would “improve this jurisdiction’s competitiveness by en-hancing the range and diversity of financial services and product offerings … consistent with market demands, global trends, international best practice and relevant international standards.”
These legislative amendments would also ensure that regulators have access to information from private trust companies, including due diligence information which is a part of Know Your Customer regulations.
“This could save The Bahamas embarrassment later on and ensure that the reputation of the jurisdiction remains intact,” said Rochelle Deleveaux, Legal Counsel at the Central Bank.
Further, Moree told parliamentarians attending a Private Trust Legislation Seminar, held at the British Colonial Hilton yesterday, that the proposed amendments in the bill were a result of an exhaustive research and consultative process.
“There has been a lot of work put into this bill and the highest level of consultation by [the relevant agencies],” Moree said, adding that all of the members of the Bahamas Financial Services Board and Society, the Trust and Estate Planners, international practitioners and a number of local banks were involved in the process.
By: BARRY WILLIAMS, The Nassau Guardian
