Both Sides of The Coin: The Story of The Central Bank of Barbados 1972-2017

155 Caribbean and the US. The highlight of the activities in 1991 was a two-day workshop on offshore services in collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce. That session examined the content of the Marshall-Langer Report commissioned by the Bank to evaluate Barbados’ status as an international financial centre. The workshop dealt with tax treaties, investment vehicles, new financial products and delivery problems. During 1992, the focus was on tax treaties, to be precise, tax treaty negotiations and the benefits of the treaties with the Nordic countries. In that year as well, the Bank for the first time, contributed to articles on Barbados as an offshore financial centre. After 1992, the nature of the Bank’s involvement in the offshore financial sector changed somewhat. In that year, the International Business and Financial Services Unit was established in the Ministry of Finance to coordinate all activities related to the sector. In addition, when Bannister resigned from the Bank in 1993, the position of legal counsel was down-graded to that of legal officer. Thereafter, the Bank invested most of its resources in the promotion of offshore banks, efforts occasionally informed by research papers on special topics. For example, in 1996, Director of Bank Supervision Desiree Cherebin presented a paper entitled The Regulation of Offshore Banks in Barbados to the Association of International Business Companies and Offshore Banks. A policy paper on Proposed Qualifying Criteria for Offshore Bank Application s was also prepared by Ian Carrington, the deputy director. By 1996 the Bank had reviewed the Offshore Banking Act and made recommendations to the Ministry of Finance regarding some improvements. Those suggestions helped to inform the drafing of the new International Financial Services Bill in 1998. 85 The Bank ceased to participate in RIMS during the early years of the 21st century. For some time thereafter it promoted the international Administrative Assistant Marcia Weekes taking a breather before helping to assemble the Barbados booth at a RIMS Exhibition. Chapter 5: Some Notable Developments