Financial Services

The Bahamas insurance sector is being given a major overhaul, with the passing of three key pieces of legislation to establish a new monitoring body that ensures both local and offshore practices meet international standards.

Recent plans announced by the US to crack down on its citizens making use of tax havens have raised concerns over the long-term viability of offshore financial services. This in addition to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) including the Bahamas on its list of countries that were not as yet in full compliance with the body's standards on fiscal transparency. However, a careful look at Washington's proposals and at measures being taken by the government should allay at least some of these concerns, with the possibility that the situation could even be turned to the Bahamas' benefit.

Though the Bahamas is well established as one of the region's leading offshore financial centres and has an active domestic financial services industry, the insurance sector has lagged behind somewhat, a situation that may soon change.

With regulatory frameworks around the world undergoing intense scrutiny in the wake of the financial crisis, the Bahamas is well underway in enhancing the regulatory oversight of its own markets.

The Bahamas has scored well in a recent World Bank comparative study on ease of doing business internationally, ranking in the top third of the world's economies.