delisle worrell : challenges and opportunities for barbados ’ ibfs sector remarks by dr delisle worrell, governor of the central bank of barbados, at the 5th annual international business and financial services sector conference, bridgetown, 10 april 2015. * * * this annual conference is an opportunity to reflect on the challenges and opportunities for barbados ’ ibfs sector, and to assess how we may improve on our performance and mastery of our circumstances. for all of our history barbadians have made our living as tiny players on a global market. by and large, over time, we have made a success of it, and as a result we now enjoy an enviable quality and style of life. the challenges we face in the ibfs sector are of the same nature as the challenges our economy has always faced in international competition with players much larger than ourselves. the lessons of our past are that you must know your strengths and operate well within them, you must make a game plan based on those strengths, you must arm yourself fully with research and information, you should implement your strategy in a flexible, responsive way, and you should prepare and commit yourself for the long haul. these are the lessons we must apply in facing the new challenges in the ibfs sector. we face new challenges, often referred to by acronyms such as beps, fatca, fapi rules, etc. they are well known and i do not need to repeat them here, but they are serious and they affect our canadian business, which is the bulk of our sector. in responding to the current challenges we are playing to our strengths. our value proposition is that international companies can establish subsidiaries in barbados to perform international transactional services that they would otherwise do in a major metropolis such as toronto or new york. they are able to reduce costs and be more competitive because wages for skilled professionals in barbados are so much lower. they are able to offer the same quality of service because barbados boasts international levels of social and economic infrastructure, and excellent communications with north america, europe and beyond. we have regulatory and legal oversight systems that are constantly being upgraded in light of guidance from the basel committee, the imf, the fsb, the fatf, the global forum and other international bodies. we have a large and expanding network of range dta ’ s and bit ’ s. we are constantly expanding our range of products. and we are not a tax haven ; companies operating in barbados, including ibc ’ s

marion williams : the current turbulence in the us financial markets and its implications for barbados comments by dr marion williams, governor of the central bank of barbados, on the current turbulence in the us financial markets and the implications for barbados, bridgetown, 24 september 2008. * * * while the current turbulence in the us financial markets is unlikely to have a significant impact on barbados immediately, as the us economy slows or goes into recession as it copes with these difficulties, the result could be a slowdown in the growth of the barbados economy going forward. recession in the uk and some european economies would also impact adversely on our tourism prospects and our investment inflows. however, the barbados financial system should remain sound although there may be some loss in value ( realised and unrealised ) on us dollar fixed income securities held by financial institutions, including the central bank, as securities ’ prices in the us markets tumble. however, such losses in value are not expected to be significant in relation to the overall portfolios of these institutions, particularly over the medium term and especially for those who tend to hold short to medium term securities to maturity. for non - bank institutions with us equity portfolios, long - term investors would have some tolerance to the current volatility in the equity market but may record unrealised losses in the short term. for some institutions in the international financial business ( or offshore ) sector who trade more aggressively in us stocks and in fixed income securities and more especially in derivative instruments, particularly those who may have been doing active business with those us financial institutions involved in the us financial melt down, realised losses may be recorded. this is likely to be mitigated by the actions of the us government to bail out these institutions. details of the bailout are not yet clear, but it is expected that there will be free access to assets placed with these institutions where funds are held in an agency or custodial capacity on behalf of overseas investors. funds held in the capacity of agent by these us institutions should retain their agency status and should not be affected by the financial losses of these institutions. administrative hurdles during the adjustment period may however hamper immediate access. any problems of access to funds held in an agency capacity are expected to be short - lived if the bailout goes through. in any event, the investment activities of the offshore sector are segregated from the local banking system. in the interim, investors in overseas markets should be cautious about the external financial advisers, consultants and cu