Well before the Second World War, The Bahamas was already seen as a desirable place for persons with wealth to come and live. The Bahamas&’ financial services industry didn&’t come first: what really came first were those persons of mobile capital and being able to afford to live at a place of their choosing. Almost 100 years later, the country is very mature in having maintained and expanded its financial services infrastructure, while, of course, still being an obvious place for persons choosing to relocate for many reasons, whether it be the expertise offered to support wealth management, climate, lifestyle or just simply the location. The Bahamas is in close proximity to major centers around the world and midway between Latin America and North America. Insiders report a steady influx of family offices setting up in The Bahamas.
The Bahamas: A Safe Harbour
The COVID-19 experience has also shown that the archipelago can offer a certain element of security as people can potentially stay somewhat insulated from the possible ravages of international pandemics. To date, The Bahamas has been managing the response to the COVID19 pandemic well. During the lockdown period throughout the archipelago a considerable number of yachts moored from various places around the world where people chose to come to The Bahamas because they saw it as a place of refuge. We also know that a substantial number of global citizens reside in The Bahamas, and many of them chose to be in The Bahamas to wait out the pandemic. At the same time, The Bahamas remains open for business – the international banks and trust companies never stopped operating. Local advisors and lawyers helped clients take steps to transition or amend their fund structures, to service and prep their businesses, maybe making some changes adapting to the pandemic, to revise corporate planning, and possibly a bit more assisting family offices in doing, for instance, some planning around medical needs.
The Bahamas has a land mass of 3865 square miles or 10,010 km² and thus slightly smaller than Connecticut offering options and choices as premises are available for leasing, for renting, or to purchase. This makes it much simpler in The Bahamas to be compliant with the substance requirements because the infrastructure is in place, and there is availability of appropriate property and personnel.
New regulatory initiatives find international traction
More funds and fund managers are taking advantage of the Bahamas&’ new Investment Funds Act which is compliant with all international standards – FATCA, IOSCO, and also with the EU – while permitting that the fund&’s administrator can be anywhere in the world. In addition, The new Bahamas Commercial Enterprises Act allows companies from different sectors such as wealth management, advisory to FinTech to start operating on an expedited or fast-tracked basis with incentives around access to work permits. A new Digital Assets and Registered Exchanges Bill is in the works to solidify the legal framework for FinTech business. After extensive benchmarking, engaging with other regulators as well as local stakeholders in the trading space in an effort to develop a robust regulatory framework, The Bahamas implemented rules with respect to contract for differences and leverage ratios and has since attracted firms to open new, regulated entities in Nassau to better reach emerging markets.
The Opalesque 2020 Bahamas Roundtable took place online with the following panelists:
- Christina Rolle, Executive Director, Securities Commission of The Bahamas; Vice-Chair, IOSCO Inter-American Regional Committee
- Christel Sands-Feaste, Partner, Higgs & Johnson
- Linda Beidler-D&’Aguilar, Partner, Glinton Sweeting and O&’Brien
- John Delaney QC, Senior Partner, Delaney Partners
- John Wilson QC, Senior Partner, McKinney Bancroft & Hughes
- Brendan Davis, Business Development Manager, ActivTrades Corp
- Tanya McCartney, CEO & Executive Director, The Bahamas Financial Services Board
