There was a one-day seminar during which a new relationship was forged among the sponsors of the event – the Financial Services Commission (FSC), the Anguilla Financial Services Association (AFSA) and the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP). The seminar was held on January 24 at La Vue Conference Facility.
“The objectives of that relationship are simple: no more and no less than the survival and growth of Anguilla’s financial services industry,” Mr Keith Bell, Director of FSC, said at the opening session of the seminar.
Governor Alistair Harrison said the aim of the seminar was to strengthen the dialogue between the industry and the Regulator (the FSC); and to consider the three underlying requirements for achieving the right regulatory framework: a Government committed to putting the right legislation in place; a Regulator committed to implementing it; and an industry that gets the central message that good regulation is good for business.
“The Government of Anguilla has certainly shown its commitment to putting in place the necessary legislative framework,” Governor Harrison continued. “The Regulator has shown and will continue to show determination to implement; and, as for the industry, I believe that increasing numbers of you, if still not everyone, get the message that Anguilla can only survive and develop as an offshore centre with a high-quality reputation consequent on good regulation which all practitioners respect.”
Mr. Harrison told the industry partners that both the British and the Anguillian Governments shared a commitment to create the conditions to push forward the development of Anguilla’s economy in the difficult international environment.
The Governor was confident that the Anguilla Government would soon reach agreement on the Framework for Fiscal Responsibility, disclosing that there was a proposal to rename it the Framework for Fiscal Sustainability and Development. He was also confident that the policy would provide a secure foundation for economic development that both governments wished. “It aims at sustainable development, effective fiscal planning, effective risk management and also putting value for money considerations at the heart of decision-making,” he explained. “It is clearly essential that every cent of money the Government of Anguilla spends gives the best possible value for money to the people of Anguilla.”
He stressed that the joint determination of the British and Anguillian Governments was to ensure that that could chart a course through difficult waters; a secure balanced budget for 2013; long-term fiscal sustainability and more predictable capital spending.
“All those efforts will be in vain if Anguilla does not enjoy a reputation as a well-regulated jurisdiction in which financial services can prosper,” he added. “As I have made clear, on many occasions, that is up to the Government, the Regulator and the industry itself. Let us work together and so let us succeed to together.”
Chief Minister and Minister of Finance, Hubert Hughes, observed that from the large gathering at the seminar there was a lot of interest in the financial services sector. “I think that if we all can genuinely work together to ensure its desired effect, as far as my Government is concerned, I think you all will be compensated for your interest,” he said. He was of the view that it sometimes appeared that the financial industry was very over-regulated.
“I think the emphasis should be placed now on how we can benefit from those regulations instead of living on them,” he continued. “Today, I would say that Anguilla is suffering because, as the Governor said, we are not in the days of 2000 when the economy was buoyant throughout the world. The economy today is not getting better, or is getting better too slowly, and therefore we have to be less stringent in our red tape and bureaucracy in dealing with foreign investors. We have been driving away foreign investors from Anguilla, and other countries have been jealous of Anguilla because foreign investors were not going to them after coming to us. But there is far too much red tape, and far too much bureaucracy, in our administration to deal with the global recession.”
The Chief Minister went on: “The question of the Framework for Fiscal Responsibility or Sustainability, or whatever they may call it, cannot work in Anguilla like it works in the British Virgin Islands, in Bermuda or Cayman Islands. Anguilla is different. Anguilla is the poor man of the British Overseas Territories, today…The question of the Fiscal Framework is that we must tailor it to suit our special circumstances. We cannot accept it in its present form because it restricts development at a time when we need development. When you talk about partnership, it should be with mutual respect – not one partner imposing its will on another partner.”
Mr. Hughes acknowledged there was some conflict regarding the operation and control of the financial services industry. “I will never be satisfied unless I see the results of the financial services sector featuring more significantly in our budget because the budget is our problem with the United Kingdom,” he emphasised.
The keynote address was delivered by the Chairman of the FSC, Helen Hatton. She stressed that the FSC was not interested in local quarrels over the financial services industry, but rather in its proper regulation.
She spoke in detail on such points as commitment to closer dialogue involving the industry, the FSC and the Government; the need for a high quality, competitive legislative, framework to make Anguilla the “destination of choice”; and that industry practices in Anguilla must get a good evaluation in 2014.
There were addresses by the President of the Anguilla Financial Services Association, Pam Webster; and the CEO of Anguilla Finance, Steve Garlick. Other speakers were Permanent Secretary Finance, Dr AdanHarrigan, on the Anguilla Government’s commitment to facilitating appropriate legislation and industry development, including the response to the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA); and John Lawrence, Head of Group Compliance, Nagio Insurance Company Limited.
In a comprehensive presentation, Keith Bell, the Director of FSC, gave an account mainly about the successes of the financial services sector with particular reference to 2012 which he described as “a banner year”. He quoted Steve Garlick as saying that Anguilla was “the fifth largest domicile (by number of licensed insurance entities) for captive insurers on planet earth, with a particular niche in the small to mid-size company category”.
Among some of the cautions he mentioned was the risk of not complying with the regulatory requirements for the financial services industry. “Failing to properly manage regulatory risk may result in regulatory sanctions being imposed and could harm our reputation,” he stated.
