On 25th July 2019, the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) hosted the tenth meeting of the Financial Policy Council (Council) at its offices in Hamilton, Bermuda. The meeting was chaired by the Minister of Finance, the Hon. Curtis Dickinson JP, MP.

The role of the Council is to assess possible threats to Bermuda’s financial stability, and to identify policies and actions to mitigate or eliminate such threats. It also advises the Government on the development of the financial stability framework in Bermuda, and makes policy recommendations designed to support the general economic and financial well-being of the country. Members of the Council are the Minister of Finance the Hon. Curtis Dickinson (chair), Sir Andrew Large (deputy chair), BMA Executive Chairman Jeremy Cox, Michael Butt, Dame Amelia Fawcett, Gil Tucker and Dr. DeLisle Worrell.

At their meeting of 25th July, Council members discussed recent international and domestic economic developments and assessed the impact these might have on Bermuda’s financial stability. Council members raised concern that, globally, not enough attention has been given to risk from distorted asset pricing, especially for entities outside the banking sector. Members stressed the importance for Bermuda to continue closely monitoring this risk and to assess its potential impact to Bermuda.

Mr. Phil Butterfield, Chair of the Bermuda First Advisory Group, gave a presentation on the objectives, structure and scope of work of Bermuda First. The Council and Bermuda First will look for areas for continuing cooperation.

Members were provided with an update on the actions that the Minister of Finance was taking with regard to economic substance to ensure Bermuda addresses the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s requirements and to remain competitive with other peer jurisdictions. Members noted that the progress being made on this matter was positive and applauded the government’s efforts on this. Members noted that the task will now be to get Bermuda off the grey list and to continue engaging with the international community to manage any emerging threats.

Members examined the current state of the banking sector in Bermuda, including the critical functions it performs, challenges the banking sector may face in providing services to existing and new sectors of the economy, and the progress being made in the development of the recovery and resolution framework. Members discussed potential ideas that could be further developed as part of the banking strategy in Bermuda.

In addition, the following topics were discussed:

• Bermuda’s fintech strategy being developed by the government which has the underlying objective of growing the economy and creating jobs;

• The Initial Coin Offering (ICO) regulatory framework, with particular focus on the rules around disclosure, communications, information technology, cyber security, AML/ATF as well as record-keeping; and

• Activities underway at the Bermuda Government and the BMA in respect to continuing with the development of a robust cyber risk management framework for financial institutions and the jurisdiction.

The Council’s next meeting is scheduled for December 2019.

• Press release from the Bermuda Government