Part 1 of multipart series on Financial Services
In its 2003 report the Bahamas Financial Services Board (BFSB) identified eight areas it considered of ﾓprimary interest to membersﾒ in positioning The Bahamas as a ﾓleading international financial centre.ﾒ
The critical areas identified by the industry lobby group include change, bureaucracy, financial institutions, human resources, policy, regulatory environment, international recognition and existing business.
Managing Change
Following the OECDﾴs attack on ﾑtax havensﾴ through its Financial Action Task Forceﾴs (FATF) blacklisting exercise, the government of The Bahamas took what it considered necessary steps, including the enactment of several pieces of legislation, designed to bring the jurisdiction in line with ﾓinternational best practicesﾒ.
The BFSB report noted that ﾓguidelines are being formulated and published internationally under the guise of ﾓnew international standardsﾒ that have not been adopted by the sponsors or the international community.ﾒ
In light of the volatile situation created by these unsanctioned ﾓnew international standardsﾒ the BFSB report called for ﾓa series of high-level meetingsﾒ among the ﾓvarious government agenciesﾒ and ﾓrepresentatives of the various professional industry associationsﾒ to develop an ﾓinternal response mechanism to international developments.ﾒ
The industry lobby group also called for the establishment of what it called a ﾓtechnical working groupﾒ whose main purpose would be ﾓto discuss on an on-going basis all matters related to international cooperation.ﾒ
Bureaucracy
Acknowledging the newly created Ministry of Financial Services and Investmentﾴs avowed commitment to a philosophy of ﾓred carpetﾒ as opposed to that of ﾓred tapeﾒ, in facilitating the interaction between the public and private sectors, the BFSB called for ﾓclearly stated policiesﾒ supported by ﾓdefinitive and transparent rules and procedures.ﾒ
A financial services expert who spoke to the Bahama Business Journal on condition of anonymity, referring to the interaction between the public and private sectors said that the jurisdiction could not expect to be taken seriously if its procedures were not clearly stated.
ﾓWhen an investor is filling out the forms and documents you canﾴt come back later and say ﾓOh you did not fill this out or you have to go back to this ministry or I donﾴt know when you will be getting an answer,ﾒ the expert said referring to the way the public sector has interacted with the private sector.
The need for a more rational approach to ﾑdoing business in The Bahamasﾴ for both foreign and Bahamian investors, has long been the cry of Bahamian businesspeople.
Businessman Marlon Johnson in an earlier interview wanted to know why was it so hard for someone to ﾓwrite out the steps you have to go through.ﾒ
ﾓIf you want to open a business you go to Finance on Frederick Street to get a business licence and they ask you if you register the name at Registry on Shirley Street, you register the name and then go back to Frederick Street, then they ask you what kind of business it is you want the licence for if it is a restaurant or food related then they ask you if you been to the Ministry of Health. By the time you finish running around wasting time you have to ask yourself why canﾴt somebody in the government print a simple step by step guide to help Bahamians who want to go into business.ﾒ
The BFSB addressing this particular problem ﾖ sequential as opposed to parallel processing of applications and proposals ﾖ stated that ﾓwe need to move toward a system that works as a fully integrated environment that involves the fewest possible steps.ﾒ
Recognising that the best policies in the world are useless without dedicated administrators and efficient systems, BFSB report stated that not only must policies be supported by ﾓdefinitive and transparent rules and proceduresﾒ but these must also be ﾓunderpinned by well designed and functioning systems.ﾒ
Specifically, the BFSB would like to see ﾓindustry liaison officersﾒ dedicated to resolving ﾓbottlenecks to prevent any erosion of client confidence.ﾒ
C. E. Huggins, The Bahama Journal
