Deputy Director, Fiduciary Services of the  BVI Financial Services Commission Simone E Martin was the guest speaker at the regular meeting of the Rotary Club Sunrise yesterday, January 25.

She spoke on the topic “21st Century Prerequisites of a Successful Financial Services Industry”.

 

Deputy Director, Fiduciary Services of the  BVI Financial Services Commission Simone E Martin was the guest speaker at the regular meeting of the Rotary Club Sunrise yesterday, January 25.

She spoke on the topic “21st Century Prerequisites of a Successful Financial Services Industry”.

Awareness
She told the meeting that there is a need for the financial services industry to educate the population of the role and impact of the BVI Financial industry.

While stressing the need for the BVI to have pride in its accomplishments, she said “we need to be cautious of the media as they are not always our friends and can erode the reputation of a small jurisdiction”.

Diligence
Martin advised key stakeholders that they need to believe that mediocrity does not have a place in the BVI financial services industry. One should always strive to be better.

Proactive Approach
She noted that the Global Financial Crisis has given us a clear indication that we need to be proactive rather than being reactionary to events around us.

“There needs to be a re-evaluation of business strategies and more dialogue between key stakeholders”, she said.

Transparency & Privacy
The Deputy Director added “the evolution of financial services over the last two decades has been far-reaching. We need to maintain a certain level of transparency as criminals are growing more sophisticated.  It is therefore necessary that we be fully aware of their activities so that we do not loose credibility while trying to protect our clients’ privacy.”

In concluding her presentation, she reemphasized the need for the strengthening of partnerships with all stakeholders; a continued high level of  performance and forging the way forward for others.