Barbados stands a good chance of wooing offshore businesses presently domiciled in Bermuda.

The possibility of this happening was recently brought up by International Consultant, Geoffrey Bell, who remains upbeat about further development of the Barbadian international financial services sector.

Recently addressing an audience of public and private sector officials, Bell stated that the key for Barbados is to maintain the standards and avoid any episodes that could negatively impact on its reputation.

Bell, who heads Geoffrey and Bell and Company, an international consultancy firm, admitted that while Bermuda is “king” of international insurance, problems with staffing availability and costs suggest that the opportunity to take some of this business to Barbados certainly exists.

“Perhaps the starting point is back office processes aided by a supervisor who gives quick responses even if some may be not international insurance is a growth industry, and Barbados can be a bigger part of this growth and is already making considerable efforts to achieve this goal.” Bell said.

He pointed out that self-respecting institutions want to do business in an international center recognised worldwide as having the highest standards, stating that “This gives Barbados a major advantage in financial services. Of course in the short term, business may be lost as standards are raised, but that is usually good business to lose,” Bell said.

“As I see it, business will migrate to Barbados from other parts of the Caribbean as the need to operate in an internationally recognised centre becomes more obvious.” He further said that the challenge for Barbados in financial services is that competition is intense and global.

Bell stated that one example of this is in the area of captive insurance where Vermont and other states in the US have become very active in promoting this business at low cost.
According to Bell, “given the economic environment I expect, namely low inflation, value for money is vital. This means that raising productivity in financial services is essential, with one aspect being quick response by insurance regulators to questions from insurance companies.”

Bell said that insurance services are an area of great opportunity to Barbados. Already, there are over 400 captive insurance companies active and registered in Barbados and 39 qualifying insurance companies. He also said that Barbados must tap into the area of international asset management and private wealth creation where impressive growth is taking place.

According to Bell, “The British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Dublin and the Isle of Man are examples of international financial centres where money managers domicile and administer funds.

“This is happening in Barbados, but can grow as demand for internationally managed portfolios expand,” Bell said. “Moreover, Trust companies have a role to play and can be a central part of attraction of a particular international centre.”

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