In a recent public address, the Rt. Hon. Hubert A. Ingraham, Prime Minister of The Bahamas, highlighted what he considered three major facts about The Bahamas: *
(a) Firstly, we are a mature financial jurisdiction with considerable strength and depth in our professional infrastructure: the highly trained and experienced Bahamian personnel, and the quality legal, accounting and investment advice available through Bahamian legal, accounting and investment firms;
(b) Secondly, the good and improving physical infrastructure available in the Bahamas, whether relating to access via air, quality of voice and data communications, internet services or office accommodations. These make The Bahamas an ideal location in and from which to deliver financial services to sophisticated, high net worth individuals, corporations and other business entities.
(c) Thirdly, our geographical location in the same time zone as, and in close proximity to, North, Central and South America, where, I am advised close to half of the world’s wealth resides. This places us in an excellent position to service the needs of clients from these important markets.*
The Prime Minister was speaking at the official launch of the Royal Bank of Canada Trust Company’s US Private Wealth Group in The Bahamas. He continued, *”Importantly for us, such clients express their legitimate needs for the range of services offered by financial institutions operating in and from The Bahamas.”* According to Mr. Ingraham, corporate and trade financing, estate planning, wealth preservation and the transfer of assets between generations, are some of the reasons why large corporations and wealthy individuals rely on the services offered and have remained the satisfied customers of The Bahamas’ financial institutions for many, many years.
He noted the particular satisfaction of the Government with the continued investment in the provision of state-of-the-art commercial office complexes in the country by a range of quality bank and trust companies and real estate developers.