The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tibunemedia.net

Financial services industry executives yesterday expressed optimism over the sector's future, arguing that this nation needs to "change the perception about doing business in the Bahamas".

Michelle Neville-Clarke, a partner at Lenox Paton, speaking as a panellist at the Nassau Conference, said that while she was optimistic about the future, it was not without reservations.

"Everyone has to buy-in. We can have the right legislation and competitive pricing, but we must be able to stay agile and relevant," she said. "We must understand what new products are out there, and take ownership of marketing and developing the environment that attracts new business."

Andre Souza, of Arbitral Securities, argued that the changing financial services landscape provides an opportunity for the Bahamas to develop new products and solutions.

"We need to change the perception that people have about doing business in the Bahamas," he said. "We need to be forthcoming about the changes that have been made. We need to demonstrate reality. We need to demonstrate as an industry the changes that have been made.

"If one company is promoting something, another cannot be saying something different. We need to be forthcoming with the press and show them what has been done, what needs to be done and that we are working on it. We cannot wait for another article to come out," said Mr Souza, referencing an Economist article published in 2016 which described this nation as the 'hold-out' on automatic tax information exchange.

Tanya McCartney, the Bahamas Financial Services Board's (BFSB) chief executive and executive director, said: "If we are saying that we are a tax cooperative and transparent jurisdiction, then we all have to be committed to that because if one institution goes against the grain and we have an article in the Economist again, or some other scandal, it impacts the industry as a whole."