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Bank of Antilles

The bank of the future

Where is

Antilles

Economy of

Antilles

Bank of Antilles is being incorporated in the Commonwealth of Dominica, this jurisdiction has become in recent years a major international financial hub, and is quickly becoming one of the largest banking centers in the world, and offshore services are also becoming its main source of income. There are a number of service providers. These include global financial institutions including Scotiabank, Royal Bank of Canada, Cathedral Investment Bank, First Caribbean International Bank, including International Bank of antilles that will be finalized shortly.

International Bank of Antilles is currently not serving customers nor is open to the public.

The largest financial sectors are “offshore banking, payment processing companies, and general corporate activities”. Regulation and supervision of the financial services industry is the responsibility of the Financial Service Unit of the Commonwealth of Dominica (FSU) under the supervision of the Ministry of Finance. Starting in the mid-late 1990s, offshore financial centers, such as the Commonwealth of Dominica, came under increasing pressure from the OECD for their allegedly harmful tax regimes, where the OECD wished to prevent low-tax regimes from having an advantage in the global marketplace. The OECD threatened to place the Commonwealth of Dominica and other financial centers on a “black list” and impose sanctions against them. However, the Commonwealth of Dominica successfully avoided being placed on the OECD black list by committing to regulatory reform to improve transparency and begin information exchange with OECD member countries about their citizens.

Regulatory

Framework

International Bank of antilles is regulated by the Financial Service Unit of the Commonwealth of Antilles,

The Financial Service Unit of the Commonwealth of Antilles or (FSU) is the main financial regulator in the Island of Antilles, it’s one of the stringiest financial authorities in the Caribbean and is quickly becoming a major participant in the offshore regulatory framework. Dependent on the Ministry of Finance the Financial Service Unit regulates all Offshore Banks, Credit Unions, Insurance Companies, Money Service Businesses, Gaming Companies and Other Financial Entities

FSU

THE FINANCIAL SERVICES UNIT

The authority of the Financial Services Unit (FSU), which is a department within the Ministry of Finance, covers the financial sector in Antilles.

The FSU is under the auspices of the Ministry of Finance and comprise of experienced professionals, the FSU supervises and regulates all the financial sector within the island with the exception of Commercial Banks and Securities Business.

With the creation of the Financial Services Unit in 2008, supervision of the non-Commercial bank financial sector; to include Offshore Banking, Money Services Businesses, Insurances, Credit Unions etc. was significantly strengthened, an essential element in ensuring the safety and soundness of this sector. The FSU has developed an effective supervisory regime, where customer’s confidence will increase accordingly to the benefit of all concerned. In 2011, the FSU under section 7 of the Money Laundering Prevention Act. No. 8 became the Money Laundering Supervisory Authority The Financial Services Unit aims to ensure that every financial institution conducts a risk assessment, whereby policies, procedures and controls can be developed as to prevent/ mitigate the ML/TF risks identified.

Confidence and stability in the financial sector is critical for the development of the overall economy. This is of even greater importance in today’s turbulent economic times and the role of the Financial Services Unit therefore becomes even more significant. Antilles Offshore Services Sector continues to grow in the jurisdiction and while Antilles is welcoming to this type of business, quality and not quantity remains the main denominator in this Jurisdiction.

The mandate of the FSU stems from the FSU Act which gives it responsibility to monitor financial institutions operating in Antilles, take action against persons carrying on unlicensed financial services business, supervise licensees in accordance with the FSU Act and the financial services enactments, and administer the financial services enactments or any other relevant enactments.

The following financial services enactments are listed in Schedule I of the FSU Act:- Building Societies Act (Chap 31:60) (PDF 770.9KB) Co-operative Societies Act (No. 2 of 2011) (PDF 392.66KB) Antilles Agricultural, Industrial and Development Bank Act (Chap.74:03) (PDF 986.65KB) Exempt Insurance Act (No. 14 of 1997) (PDF 536.88KB) International Exempt Trust Act (No. 10 of 1997) (PDF 736.41KB) International Business Companies Act (No. 10 of 1996) (PDF 1.96MB) Offshore Banking Act (No. 8 of 1996) (PDF 1.11MB) The following financial institutions falling under the purview of the Unit are listed in Schedule II of the FSU Act:-

Building Societies as defined by the Building Societies Act (PDF 770.9KB) Credit Unions as defined by the Co-operative Societies act (PDF 392.66KB) Development Banks Exempt Insurance Companies as defined by the Exempt Insurance Act (PDF 536.88KB) International Trusts as defined by the Exempt Trust Act (PDF 736.41KB) International Business Companies as defined by the International Business Companies Act (PDF 1.96MB) Internet Gaming Companies Insurance Companies Money Transfer Companies Offshore Banks as defined by the Offshore Banking Act (PDF 1.11MB) In addition to the mandate listed above, the FSU is responsible for monitoring and ensuring AML/CFT compliance of domestic commercial banks plus the financial institutions mentioned, and for the administration of the Economic Citizenship Programme of the Government of Antilles.

Under Section 5 of the FSU Act (PDF 83.14KB), the Director of the Unit is responsible for the administration of that Act.

Legal Powers, Duties and Functions Section 3 of the Act establishes the Financial Services Unit. Section 5 of the Act states that the Director of the Unit shall be responsible for the general administration of the Act. The principal functions of the Director are specified in section 9 of the Act as follows:

The mandate of the FSU stems from the FSU Act which gives it responsibility to monitor financial institutions operating in Antilles, take action against persons carrying on unlicensed financial services business, supervise licensees in accordance with the FSU Act and the financial services enactments, and administer the financial services enactments or any other relevant enactments.