Bahamas-based financial institutions were yesterday urged to take the initiative in proving why they should be granted Qualified Intermediary (QI) status rather than simply be reactive to changes in the financial legislation that could impact them.
Dr. Gilbert Morris said the Bahamian financial services sector should take the initiative and lobby US regulators over rules such as the QI regulations, a term used to describe institutions who have had their now Your Customer (KYC) procedures approved by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
“Our view has been that we will do the analysis and demonstrate for them the reasons why QI’s should qualify,” Dr. Morris said.
“We’re not waiting for them to come up with some solution that may be disadvantageous to us. While they’re in this process and the sands are shifting, we figure that we can produce an analysis that helps our cause. That’s what The Landfall Centre is about, using research and using intelligence to turn certain situations to the advantage of our membership.”
Dr. Morris was speaking at the Landfall Centre’s one-day Annual Fall Global Workshop on International Financial Services Regulations, held at The British Colonial Hilton.
Given that The Bahamas is a Qualified Jurisdiction (QJ) and many of its international banks are qualified intermediaries, Dr. Morris questioned why The Bahamas should not automatically have been considered as in compliance with the PATRIOT Act.
Established in October 2002, members of the Landfall Centre include international banks domiciled in The Bahamas, Washington D.C. and Geneva. Dr. Morris said the Centre has also received serious interest from countries in the Middle and Far East.
The Centre believes The Bahamas financial services sector is not receiving the full range of information concerning the changing US regulatory environment. It feels an attempt is being made to streamline financial services regulation, particularly as it relates to the PATRIOT Act and the QI rules, involving various agencies such as the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulatory bodies.
“We wanted to inform our membership of this and to inform them of the opportunity we have to make our issues known while this process is going on,” Dr. Morris said.
By Yolanda Deleveaux, The Tribune
