The Bahamas Financial Services Board attended the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners LATAM Conference 2018 in Mexico City, Mexico on October 4th-5th. The STEP LATAM Conference 2018 was held at the Hyatt Regency in Mexico City. In attendance were over three hundred delegates from all around the world. The Bahamas was well represented with … Read More
The Bahamas Financial Services Board Hosts Webinar for Brazilian Market
The Bahamas Financial Services Board hosted a webinar for intermediaries and service providers in Brazil on Tuesday September 26th at the Island House. The webinar entitled The Bahamas Financial Services Update was geared towards the Brazilian market. Live, video-linked, participants signed on from different parts of Brazil including Rio and Sao Paulo. They were able … Read More
19th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2018
The Bahamas Financial Services Board (BFSB) hosted its nineteenth (19th) Annual General Meeting (AGM) in the Victoria Room of the British Colonial Hilton Hotel on Wednesday September 19th. The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance K Peter Turnquest gave the keynote address at the AGM. He updated attendees on the status of our international … Read More
Central Bank AML/CFT Guidelines
On August 29th, 2018 The Central bank issued new AML/CFT Guidelines for Supervised Financial Institutions (SFIs). These Guidelines incorporate both the mandatory minimum requirements of the AML/CFT laws of The Bahamas and industry best practices and are enforceable by virtue of regulation 8 of the Financial Intelligence (Transactions Reporting) Regulations 2001. All SFIs of the … Read More
Bahamas Landfall: London
Spotlight on The Bahamas 29th November, 0830 am, London Hedgeweek in partnership with the Bahamas Financial Services Board will be hosting an exclusive event at the Reform Club, Central London. The event, entitled The Bahamas: The Clear Choice for Investment & Financial Services – will run from 8.30am to 10.30am and will showcase the jurisdiction … Read More
FTRA Regulations 2018 & Appointed Day Notice
Please find attached the gazetted Financial Transactions Reporting Regulations, 2018 and the appointed day notice bringing the Regulations into operation on June 11th, 2018. Financial Transactions Regulations. 2018 FFT Regulations Appointed Day Notice
The Bahamas List of AEOI/CRS Exchange Partners
Please be advised that the Competent Authority has today released a list of the exchange partners for The Bahamas with respect to the Automatic Exchange of Information/Common Reporting Standard. Provided below for your information. It can also be accessed on the Bahamas Tax Reporting website: www.taxreporting.finance.gov.bs Click here to Download (PDF) Should you have questions please … Read More
Transformation of the Financial Services Sector: Education & Improved Ease of Doing Business
The Bahamas government is allocating resources to facilitate the transformation of the financial services sector. The 2018/2019 fiscal budget was passed in the House of Assembly on June 18th, 2018. In his contribution to the budget debate to the Bahamian Parliament, The Honourable T. Brent Symonette, the Bahamas Minister of Financial Services, Trade & Industry … Read More
2018/2019 Budget Communication by the Minister of Financial Services, Trade & Industry, and Immigration
Minister Brent Symonette 2018-2019 Budget Contribution delivered Wednesday, 13th June, 2018
The Hon. K. Peter Turnquest was born on August 22nd, 1964 in the Bahamas and earned his Bachelor of Business Administration from Prairie View A&M University, and his MBA from Nova Southeastern University. He is a Certified Public Accountant and has been in public and private practice for over 30 years in the area of financial accounting and reporting, audit, corporate services, merges & acquisitions, receiverships and liquidations. Mr. Turnquest has had wide business experience having led international sales and manufacturing operations in several countries.
A former Attorney-General of The Bahamas and one of Her Majesty’s Queens Counsel, John’s practice concentration are financial services law and regulation, corporate governance, business restructuring & insolvency, and commercial litigation. He has also been advisor in several major acquisitions and mergers within The Bahamas, and also in acquisitions by or mergers with regional entities.
The Honourable Brent Symonette presently serves as the Minister of Financial Services, Trade & Industry and Immigration. In May 2017, Minister Symonette was elected as the Member of Parliament representing the constituency of St. Anne’s, Nassau, N.P., The Bahamas. An alumnus of Brunel University in Middlesex, England, he graduated with a BSc (Hons.) in Law and Political Science. He is a Barrister-at-Law having been called to the Bahamas Bar in 1978. Mr. Symonette is a respected and experienced politician having served in many governmental capacities for approximately thirty (30) years. His political career began in 1987 where he was appointed to the Senate of The Bahamas serving in this capacity for two consecutive five year terms. In 2002, he was elected as the Member of Parliament for the Montagu Constituency. During his parliamentary career he served as Minister of Tourism and Attorney General, Deputy Leader of the Free National Movement Party (FNM), Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration.
Valdez K. Russell serves as the principal of VKR Insights, a communications and reputation management agency. Throughout his professional career, Valdez has been instrumental in facilitating public relations and communication strategies to help individuals and organizations to build relationships and influence change.
Diego Zuluaga is a policy analyst at the Cato Institute’s Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives, where he covers financial technology and consumer credit. Before joining Cato, Zuluaga was Head of Financial Services and Tech Policy at the Institute of Economic Affairs in London. While at the IEA, he authored papers on the social value of finance, the role of offshore centers, the regulation of online platforms, and the taxation of capital income, among others. His work has been featured in print and broadcast media, such as the Times, Newsweek, and the Daily Telegraph. Zuluaga is a prolific public speaker as well as a former lecturer in economics at the University of Buckingham.
Ms. Christina R. Rolle is the Executive Director of the Securities Commission of The Bahamas, having been appointed effective 26 January 2015. Ms. Rolle has over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry. Over the course of her career, Ms. Rolle has acted as Director and Deputy CEO for a prominent international private bank and held various senior managerial positions with local and other international institutions including Head of Trust and Fiduciary, Head of Risk, Compliance and Corporate Governance and Manager of Banking Services.
Mr. James H. Smith is currently in retirement since June, 2007. Before then, he served in Parliament as a Senator and in the Cabinet of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas as the Minister of State for Finance during the period 2002 to 2007.
Llewellyn Boyer-Cartwright is a partner in Callenders & Co., The Bahamas’ oldest law firm and recipient of numerous international awards of recognition including the Corporate International Global Award.
Michael Allen has professional expertise in corporate and commercial law, including derivatives law as it relates to the participation by Bahamian entities in financial derivatives transactions, real estate & development, aviation law and wealth management.
Linda Beidler-D’Aguilar joined Glinton Sweeting O’Brien as a partner in July 2015. In her practice she specializes in the structuring and creation of vehicles (including investment funds) for multinational institutional clients as well as private clients; she also advises on corporate transactions, securities law (including public and private offerings) as well as general commercial matters.
Ryan Pinder has been a partner in the law firm of Graham Thompson since January 2016. His practice areas include banking law, corporate and commercial law, investment funds, securities law, capital markets, trusts and estate planning and structuring. He specialises in financial services solutions, planning and wealth management for high net worth individuals and families, and their associated companies and businesses throughout the world.