Economic Issues
CONFIDENTIAL
a) Financial Services in the Caribbean DTS
5. Mr January informed the meeting that the conclusions and
recommendations of the Coopers and Lybrand report had now been
approved by the Whitehall Steering Group and endorsed by Ministers.
The report had been published as a Return on 19 January.
Implementation of its recommendations had begun. In Montserrat's case, responsibility for the offshore finance sector had been transferred by Order in Council on 19 December from local Ministers
to local officials answerable to the Governor. We had now agreed with the government of Anguilla that a similar transfer of responsibility would be effected in the case of that Territory. Work on the proposed legislative changes was now underway in both
Anguilla and Montserrat. In the former, a moratorium on the issue
of new bank licences had been in force since 1 January. A Financial
Services Commission under the Governor, and an investigating Task
Force under the Senior Crown Council had been set up. The provision
of TC assistance to the DT governments was now in hand.
TC posts (eg Regional Financial Adviser, accountant to assist with Anguilla
Task Force) were now being advertised. A meeting of Governors was
being planned for late March to review progress in implementation.
Looking further ahead, WIAD and ERD would need to review the likely
implications of 1992 for the offshore finance sectors in the
Caribbean DTs.
b) Financial Services in Gibraltar
6.
Mr Williams observed that Gibraltar's problems in the financial
services sector were in some ways different from those in the
Caribbean DTs. There had been a series of financial scandals in
Gibraltar in the early 1980s. HMG had reacted by enforcing the
introduction of new banking legislation and the establishment of a Banking Commission answerable to the Financial and Development Secretary. However, Barlow Clowes had revealed that Gibraltar's company and financial regulations remained inadequate. The Chief Minister had now at last started to implement the necessary changes.
CONFIDENTIAL