First offshore bank opens in Belize
While the fate of Belize’s banana industry may depend on which side of the Atlantic wins the trade war, one group of Belizeans is taking its economic future into its own hands, with a venture into the world of international finance. On Thursday night Provident Bank and Trust, Belize’s first offshore bank, will be officially opened. Today, News Five’s Stewart Krohn visited the bank’s headquarters on Barrack Road and asked manager Rick Escalante, just what offshore banking is all about.
Ricardo Escalante, Manager, Provident Bank and Trust
“Offshore banking is a part and parcel of all the financial services that Belize is offering right now to international clients and these services include international business companies, the trust act, the international ship registry and the offshore banking act. And basically we provide banking services to these other international business companies and other financial entities that are set up in Belize.
Stewart Krohn
“In the minds of some people particularly law enforcement authorities the term offshore banking is sometimes inseparable from the notion of money laundering or illicitly obtained funds. What kind of laws are there in Belize that we don’t become a center for funny money?”
Ricardo Escalante
“While it’s quite true that in the early days there were stories of people using Cayman and Bahamas as money laundering, what has happened recently is that most countries that are involved in offshore financial industry have passed a money laundering prevention act and Belize passed this act in 1996, and this imposes very strong penalties against people using or against the offshore industry facilitating money laundering. The money laundering act also forces us to identify all our clients, we have to get proper references on them and they have to sign a declaration as to the source of funds, and we will only accept funds that come through a reputable bank.”
Stewart Krohn
And how does Belize benefit from the offshore financial sector?
Ricardo Escalante
“For one thing, the government make fees when international business companies are registered, when offshore banks are license the government collects fees and the other main benefit is that it creates jobs. We are the first offshore bank and already we have five employees and they’re office jobs, they’re white collared jobs, so they’re at a certain level. And then the other part that people don’t really do see are the spinoffs, a lot of visitors will come to Belize, they will stay at the hotels, they will take tours, they will use taxis and regular spinoff it compliments the tourist industry.”
Escalante, who has years of banking experience in several Caribbean offshore jurisdictions, says that with the entire world as a potential market, Belize’s future as an international financial center should be bright. Viewers should note that the bank’s services are available only to non-residents of Belize and not those living here. Belizeans residing abroad, however, are welcome to become regular customers.
