The British Virgin Islands has reversed recent trends by becoming the only
offshore financial centre to have its rating boosted in the latest Global Financial
Centres Index (GFCI 9).
The improvement comes against a backdrop of decline among all other offshore
jurisdictions. The ninth edition of the GFCI revealed that the BVI has improved
its GFCI rating by two points, securing 40th place in the rankings outright,
having previously shared the spot with Brussels.
BVI’s achievement was made all the more remarkable by the fact that
every other offshore centre fell in both the ratings and rankings, continuing
a trend that began with the global financial crisis in 2008.
Sherri Ortiz, Executive Director of the BVI International Finance Centre,
believes the BVI’s boost in the latest edition of the GFCI is testament
to the centre’s ongoing commitment to regulation, transparency and continued
growth in its financial services offering.
“We are obviously thrilled to witness the jurisdiction’s advancement
in the GFCI ratings and gaining a higher ranking while so many others have slipped
is a real achievement,” she said. “However, we know a number of
threats continue to be mounted against offshore financial centres and we continue
our work to position the BVI to strongly rebut these challenges.”
Commenting on the challenges faced by the BVI, the government said:
“GFCI 9 has been published at a time when offshore financial centres
continue to be subject to scrutiny from international bodies such as the OECD.
However, the BVI has been on OECD’s “white list” of compliant
jurisdictions since August 2009 and signed its 20th Tax Information Exchange
Agreement, with India, in February of this year. The financial centre continues
to be viewed internationally as a well-regulated, cooperative and compliant
jurisdiction. Public revenues have also remained steady throughout the financial
crisis.”
“In fact, an International Monetary Fund report published in October
2010 indicated that the recent global financial crisis has not affected the
health of BVI financial institutions. The report further acknowledged the BVI
Financial Services Commission’s (FSC) cooperation as a full partner in
international information sharing alongside the strength and independence of
the BVI’s regulatory regime.”
The government further said that “The BVI’s strong performance
in GFCI 9 confirms the findings of the June 2010 follow-up report by the Caribbean
Financial Action Task Force (CFATF), published in October last year, where the
team examined the capacity, implementation and effectiveness of the BVI’s
institutional framework, laws, regulations and systems. The report found that
recommended actions from 2008 have been met or adequately addressed the examiners’
recommended actions and concluded that ‘these measures demonstrate Virgin
Islands’ commitment to complying with FATF AML/CFT standards’.”
LAWANDTAX-NEWS.COM
