Bank of Bermuda: No Major Changes Envisaged From OECD Deal

Lisa Ugur, Tax-news.com, London

14 July 2000

The Bank of Bermuda has said that it forsees no major changes to its business practices in the wake of Bermuda's commitment to the OECD to conform to its requirements, and thereby avoid being 'named and shamed' by the OECD on its list of harmful tax havens. The bank has issued a statement following last week's speech by Finance Minister Eugene Cox which gave some indications of the ways in which Bermuda plans to co-operate with the Paris-based organisation.

A spokeswoman for the Bank of Bermuda said: "Further to the comments made by the Minister of Finance on Friday, 7 July regarding the Government's annex to the Letter of Commitment to the OECD, we can share with you the response we are giving to our international clients who are inquiring about the matter.

"The position of the Bank of Bermuda in response to these (the Minister's) remarks is that we do not see any major changes in the areas of 'exchange of information' or `transparency' to the way Bermuda currently conducts business.

"In the main, Bermuda had to make the smallest number of changes in order to meet the OECD's guidelines and is already largely compliant with the OECD principles. The commitment of the Government in Bermuda, in our view, largely expresses Bermuda's commitment to maintain these regulations in the future and to keep up with international standards.

"The bank continues to work closely with Government and the balance of the business community within Bermuda and expects appropriate consultation to continue as Bermuda evolves its legal framework to ensure it remains a well-regulated and premier financial centre."

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