The Ministry of Financial Services & Investments is making every effort to encourage public and private sector dialogue.

This comes in response to a statement made by Financial Services & Investments Minister, Allyson Maynard-Gibson, who has foreshadowed a 5-year Strategic Plan to enhance the financial services industry.

"We want to ensure that the 5-year plan is one that has been arrived at by consensus between the private and public sectors, so that from The Bahamas, there will be a united private public sector voice detailing what the financial services sector is, who we are and how we intend to pursue our goals," Mrs Maynard-Gibson said.

"We really believe in our Ministry and the Government, and we invite your agreement also that in such a highly competitive world to the extent that we can speak with one voice, we will be better abled to negotiate the shoals."

Minister Maynard-Gibson was addressing a group of financial managers during a roundtable discussion hosted by Gomez Partners Corporate Services Ltd. on Thursday at the British Colonial Hilton.

The roundtable event was intended to give financial services providers the opportunity to discuss issues relevant to the sector.

Gomez Partners Corporate Services Ltd. offers a full range of offshore services to clients, which include company formation and corporate management, registered office, resident agent, company directorships, company secretary, assistance in opening bank accounts, administration services, liquidations, postal services and process agent for foreign entities doing business in The Bahamas.

The Minister stated that in reaction to concerns from financial and corporate service providers, some of the first things to be dealt with will be to cut the red tape in the application process, address inefficiencies at the Registrar General's Department, streamline the Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements and for the Ministry to be informed on the administration's policy on International Business Companies.

Minister Maynard-Gibson said that cutting red tape in the application process applied to many agencies. She said many submitted applications were incomplete due to the slow response to address the situation and because management systems were either not in place or were not followed.

To help solve this issue, the Minister said there will be a re-evaluation of the application forms to ensure clarity and completeness, a tightening-up of project management systems, training and retraining those who utilize them and working closely with Financial Corporate Service Providers in these endeavours.

In addressing the inefficiencies at the Registrar General's Department, the Financial Services Minister said there will be a full computerization of the Corporate Registry by December of this year.

To streamline the KYC requirements, Minister Maynard-Gibson said, a forum was held similar to that of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's accounts consultation whereby all financial Government entities could respond to observations and requests.

"Also, the Government and the Central Bank, so far as possible will be seamless in our proposals, which we want to ensure comply with our policy of being blue chip, well-regulated and cooperative with our international obligations," she said.

Stressing how important it was to have the financial industry inform the Government about the administration's KYC policy on IBCs, the Minister said IBCs, like companies incorporated under the 1992 Companies Act, are Bahamian legal entities, and that there was no intention to revoke the IBC Act.

"Dialogue with the industry makes at least two things clear," she said, noting that, "The industry feels that there was not sufficient consultation with them in 2000 when eleven pieces of legislation were rushed through, and that as a result, there are many lacunas in the Act. These make it difficult, if not impossible for lawyers to advise with certainty. In this light, we do intend to review the Act."

Speaking as a promoter of financial services and not as a regulator, Minister Maynard-Gibson said, the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank and the Ministry of Financial Services and Investments will continue to cooperate and communicate with each other and where possible, unite with industry professionals.