Copyright thenassauguardian
Bahamian Marvin Coleby, who is helping to revolutionize the way global financial services firms do their business, said yesterday that The Bahamas can supercharge its financial services sector through the strong foundations already built by its sophisticated legislation. Coleby built an equity management and fundraising platform for African startups called Raise, that became so successful that another, larger private capital resource platform builder called Carta took over his platform, and put Coleby in the driver’s seat to build systems for Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Coleby said the legal frameworks and institutions exist now that can leverage new and existing technology, to catapult The Bahamas further ahead of its competition in financial services. “The Bahamas has world-class financial laws, an ideal location, and highly skilled professionals,” said Coleby. “We’ve built strong foundations with the DARE [Digital Assets and Registered Exchanges] Act, sophisticated trust legislation, and the world’s first national digital currency. We have experienced institutions like BFSB [Bahamas Financial Services Board], the Securities Commission of The Bahamas, established banks, and respected trust companies. “The path forward is about coordination, momentum, and execution. Getting merchants to accept Sand Dollar is faster than passing new laws. Training staff on AI [artificial intelligence] tools is more immediate than building new regulatory systems.” He explained that getting more Bahamians to use digital money and fintech tools is low-hanging fruit, to begin to make the financial services sector work for more than just the very wealthy, but everyday Bahamians as well. Coleby advocates using the country’s trust and company laws to help Bahamians build wealth. “Most Bahamians don’t know that our trust laws — which wealthy foreigners love — can also help regular families protect assets and pass on wealth,” he said. “Once a month, have trust officers from firms hold free one-hour sessions at commercial bank branches to explain how a basic purpose trust works and what it costs. Work with trust companies to design a simple package for Bahamian families, that includes a basic trust setup, a year of administration, and an education session. Add a two-day ‘personal wealth structures’ workshop to their program. Teach accountants, lawyers, and financial advisors how to explain private trust companies and purpose trusts to middle-class Bahamian clients in plain language.” He further suggested that the local financial services sector should create a simple online directory showing the trust companies work with Bahamians and not just international clients, and what their minimum fees are. “The Bahamas has always been innovative in financial services. Now it’s about taking what we’ve built and putting it to work for both international clients and Bahamians themselves,” said Coleby.
