Addressing a Regional Compliance Officers Conference held at Atlantis Paradise Island last week, Minister of Financial Services and Investments Allyson Maynard-Gibson said only by promoting the Caribbean jurisdiction, will international bodies be made aware of the standards implemented to comply with their supervising agencies.
She described the compliance officers present as gatekeepers that are instrumental in building and maintaining international relationships.
“It is through your efforts that we will build strong relationships with relevant international bodies.” She requested that the officers through discussions at the conference “identify standards that are changing elsewhere and anticipate their impact on our jurisdiction.”
Minister Maynard-Gibson solicited assistance from the officers present in implementing three of the ten points set out in The Bahamas’ five year financial services strategy. The points outlined were replacing red tape with red carpet, creating a productive private sector public sector partnership and the promotion of the jurisdiction.
The minister said The Bahamas was committed to promoting efficiency, equity and growth while minimising the level of red tape for people who must deal with government agencies. Recognising the competitiveness of the financial services industry, she stressed that ways must be sought to achieve the desired ends of prevention and protection of money laundering and overseeing the sector while ensuring that the doors are kept open for business.
Alluding to the rebuilding efforts currently ongoing in the entire jurisdiction in response to the recent initiatives of the OECD, FATF, and FSF she stressed that a key element in this rebuilding is creating an environment where trust can grow between all stakeholders.
“This requires that all constituents irrespective of their role as civil servant, regulator or private sector, buy into the vision of a strong sustainable financial services sector.”
By Martella Matthews, The Nassau Guardian
