The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas has improved its ranking in a key financial centre index by four spots after plummeting 26 places in 2021, it has been revealed.

This nation was placed 95th out of 119 financial centres rated in the annual Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI), just published by Z/YEN, representing a modest improvement on 2021 when it fell to 99th from 73rd the prior year. Its rating, which fell by 51 points in 2021, rose by 11 from 540 to 551 to move The Bahamas one spot ahead of major international financial centre (IFC) rival Bermuda.

"Mexico City leads in the region, with Rio de Janeiro remaining in second place. Sao Paulo, Cayman Islands, Santiago, Bogota and The Bahamas improved their position in the index. Other centres fell back, and Buenos Aires, Barbados and Panama fell over ten places in the rankings," the survey said of the Latin American and Caribbean financial centres.

While The Bahamas was ranked higher than Panama and Barbados, it still finished behind IFC rivals such as the Cayman Islands (76th); Jersey (67th); Cyprus (77th); Guernsey (82nd); Isle of Man (88th); Monaco (80th); Liechtenstein (85th); and British Virgin Islands (92nd).

And, when all financial centres were profiled, The Bahamas was described as a "local specialist" rather than the international status bestowed on all its rival Caribbean and other IFCs. Despite the presence of FTX Digital Markets, the world's second largest crypto currency exchange, The Bahamas was also ranked 107th out of 113 for Fintech or financial technology, dropping six spots in the rankings despite its rating improving by one point.

The low Fintech ranking comes just as the Securities Commission, on March 30, released the draft anti-financial crime rules - to accompany the Digital Assets and Registered Exchanges (DARE) Act - for public consultation that will last until April 29, 2022.

"The draft Digital Assets and Registered Exchanges (Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism) Rules 2022 will establish a legislative anti-money laundering (AML) and countering the financing of terrorism (CFT) framework applicable to digital asset businesses registered under the Digital Assets and Registered Exchanges Act 2020," the Securities Commission said.

"These draft rules are aligned with international standards and developments with respect to AML/CFT requirements for virtual asset service providers. The draft rules establish the mandatory standards with which applicable registrants under DARE must comply in order to implement the requirements of AML/CFT legislation, including the Financial Transactions Reporting Act 2018, the Proceeds of Crime Act 2018 and the Anti-Terrorism Act 2018."