Stakeholders, including senior representatives of international financial institutions, commercial banks, central banks, governments the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat and the Caribbean Development Bank met in Antigua and Barbuda on 27 and 28 October 2016. The Conference was held under the Chairmanship of the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, the Honourable Gaston Browne, and was designed to seek solutions to the troubling issues of the withdrawal of correspondent relations from Caribbean respondent banks, de-risking and the labelling of the Caribbean as a tax haven.
Chairman Browne issued a release today on the outcomes and conclusions of the Conference.
The provision of correspondent banking services was identified as a “lifeline” to Caribbean economies, with the withdrawal of such posing serious threats to global financial stability and security. The Conference endorsed the FATF Guidance Note on correspondent banking services, welcoming it as "a vital platform from which both correspondent and respondent banks can engage in constructive dialogue leading to a permanent solution." The Conference called on international banks to continue their provision of correspondent banking relations while all parties implement the guidance of the FATF and the FSB. See release below for full details.
Full Compliance with International Standards
Another outcome saw Caribbean governments, regulators and banks, participating in the Conference committing the regional jurisdictions to redouble their efforts to achieve full compliance with the international standards set by the FATF, the FSB and the OECD Global Forum. The Conference welcomed the sum of 4.5 million euros pledged by the European Union to Cariforum/CFATF ”as a means to address such deficiencies as exist.” The Conference urged other countries to follow the lead of the European Union.
Caribbean jurisdictions participating in the Conference also resolved to launch a targeted and focussed campaign aimed at eliminating the false characterization of the Caribbean as a tax haven.
