BVI Financial Services Sector Offers Many Advantages


In an attempt to further educate the community on the sector Mrs. Smith joined other members of the BVI Forward team for a presentation on 10 May edition of JTV Spotlight program.

In her contribution, Mrs. Smith announced that the Territory’s financial services sector is preferred by international banks requiring such services: “For a number of reasons banks like using BVI entities. They like them because of the legal system, the fact that our laws are based on the English common law.”

“They like them because should there be a dispute between various parties they know that there is certainty in terms of the dispute resolution because of the strength of our Commercial Court,” Mrs. Smith explained.

“They like them because they are cost effective, they are very simple to use. Using that very same example of a bank you may have finances coming from a number of countries — China, the United States, the United Kingdom, Switzerland wherever — it is just easier to use a BVI (entity), it’s less red tape, they just find it simpler to use the BVI as a tax neutral jurisdiction for that investment.”

In 2015, the government said that “the BVI Forward campaign is the engine that will drive the continuing evolution and innovation of financial services in the BVI to maintain the industry’s competitive advantage in the context of changing international regulatory landscape and growing competition,” the government said.”