The Bahamas’ willingness to do business and the propensity of the government and the regulators in the financial services space to listen to firms who decide to domicile their operations and offices here, continues to be the reason the country will be successful in the financial services industry, an IX Capital Group principal said Wednesday.
Robert Berkeley said there have been many positive changes in the financial services industry in five years since IX Capital Group came to The Bahamas.
Berkeley spoke to reporters during a reception at The Balmoral Club to mark the firm’s fifth year since being established in The Bahamas. He said given the business environment in the country, he is confident the financial
services sector will continue to thrive.
“I work with a lot of regulators around the world and for me The Bahamas is the most receptive to being entrepreneurial, most conducive to doing business… and most willing to listen,” said Berkeley.
“Unless regulators and governments listen, the businesses can’t develop. So for me, that is why The Bahamas has the opportunity for the future.”
He added: “Where The Bahamas is now compared to The Bahamas five years ago, is a real difference. When I first came five years ago, you couldn’t really open a bank account. That willingness to change is why The Bahamas will be successful.”
Acting Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Investments and Aviation Chester Cooper spoke at the IX event and lauded this country’s ability to pivot to improve the financial services sector.
“We have had great history and legacy in financial services and there has been significant change in the space,” said Cooper.
“We’ve been attacked by many of the big countries of the world and large organizations that have accused us of any number of things, including harmful tax practices, as small as we are.
“But the reality of it is that we have had to pivot. We didn’t sit on the sidelines and cry about these attacks, we innovated. And as a result of our spirit of innovation, we created and we passed legislation to facilitate the transition of our industry.
“The DARE [Digital Assets and Registered Exchanges] Act is one such piece of legislation. It’s attracting the digital asset business to our country. That’s going exceptionally well. Our prime minister has led the way in this innovation.
“We continue to listen to our clients and our stakeholders, to ensure that we are creating a facilitating environment. We expect that this is going to continue.
On Wednesday, IX Capital Group donated $50,000 to the government, to facilitate youth education in the financial services space.
