Bruce Weatherill, Partner
PricewaterhouseCoopers, UK

Bruce Weatherill, Global leader – Private Banking/Wealth Management at PricewaterhouseCoopers UK, will be a Presenter at the upcoming **Bahamas Financial Services Retreat**. The event is being held this year at Our Lucaya Golf and Beach Resort, Grand Bahama Island, on January 20-22.

The annual Retreat brings together financial services industry stakeholders including ministers of government, heads and senior representatives of the civil service, regulators, private sector associations and member firms. The primary objective of such interaction is to discuss the key drivers of the sector and to formulate strategies for the growth of The Bahamas financial services industry -while also providing opportunities for networking.

Mr. Weatherill is a Chartered Accountant with experience gained from over 22 years in London and 3 years in Southern Africa. He works exclusively in the private banking/wealth management area and has led special reports from initial strategy work, the formation of private bank, development of private banking and risk management strategies to advice on product development and other advisory projects. He has also performed a wide range of acquisition and disposal reviews for private banks and wealth managers in the UK, the offshore centres, and overseas.

He has assisted in special projects ranging from the implementation of appropriate back office systems, to the launching of specialist funds and various special purpose vehicles in a number of countries and the merger and demerger of financial institutions. He is the author of the in-depth Global Private Banking/Wealth Management Survey and previously co-author of the widely respected PwC European Private Banking/Wealth Management Survey.

In recent months, the Ministry of Financial Services and Investments (MFSI) and the Bahamas Financial Services Board (BFSB) have been collaborating on an online Strategy and Branding Survey, structured to help determine the positioning of this jurisdiction in the global community — and to identify the industry’s opportunities, threats, strengths and weaknesses. Over 220 persons, including BFSB members and financial services intermediaries, participated in the exercise, which was facilitated by PricewaterhouseCoopers. At the Retreat, MFSI Minister the Hon. Allyson Maynard-Gibson will officially unveil the survey results, with Mr. Weatherill presenting PwC’s report on the exercise. Mr. Weatherill also will lead Small Group Breakout Sessions on “Bahamas Development”, looking specifically at internal practical issues.

Other Plenary and Small Group Breakout Sessions at the Retreat will deal with Jurisdictional Image and Brand Development, Tax Treaty Implications for Trade in Financial Services, and Regulatory Reform. It is anticipated that the consolidated results of the survey and discussions coming out of the Retreat will be utilised to review and refine the 5-year strategic plan for financial services.