Bi-partisan support for the country’s financial services sector ensures that the sector remains confident of the commitment to the formulation of consistent and transparent regulations and policies regardless of the political party in office. The Rt. Hon. Hubert A. Ingraham, M.P., Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, made these remarks in Parliament on Wednesday during debate on amendments to the Central Bank of The Bahamas and the Banks and Trust Companies Acts.
The amendments focus on the regulation of Money Transmission Business (MTB) services, and are intended to daunt efforts to launder money through MTB services. They also serve the purpose of ensuring Bahamas compliance with the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) Special Recommendation VI on alternative remittances.
*“It is very important for the sector to have certainty that regardless of which political party is in office, there is a commitment to the sector; to regulate it and have policies that are consistent and are known and that are not easily changed,”* the Prime Minister said. The Bills – driven by the Central Bank of The Bahamas – were drafted and released for Public Consultation prior to the new Administration assuming office.
The proposed legislation rationalises and simplifies the regulatory framework for stand alone money transmission businesses operating in The Bahamas by streamlining the supervision of MTBs in The Bahamas under the regulatory authority of the Central Bank.