Finance Minister speaks on Barbados FSC
Thursday June 09 2011 | 03:51 AM

FINANCE Minister Christopher Sinckler has said that Barbadians can be assured of the highest standard of regulation by the Financial Services Commission.

The Minister said so following a tour of the FSC’s office on Pinfold Street yesterday. 

“What we have seen here today and what we expect over the coming months is a fully functional and effective regulatory agency,” said the minister who was accompanied on the tour by the Board of Directors of the organisation.

“In the context of what we know to be the challenges facing the financial and non-financial sector both globally and regionally, the best and highest standard of financial regulations is what we will be striving for,” according to him.

“The work of the Commission is to ensure we protect the interest of those persons in the society who cannot avail themselves of the resources to do so. That means to have copious levels of rules or regulation, but that those rules do not necessary inhibit the conduct of business,” he said.

He said that the staff complement is about half and they need to get up to the full complement. Additional personnel including, investigators and assessors, will be brought on board.

Saying it is an important agency in government, he remarked that the sectors – especially the non-bank financial sector – are the fastest growing, and that they are very sensitive to the overall economy. So that after all the planning and to have the organisation up and running is an achievement.

The Minister also commented on the long time it took the Commission to get going. He reasoned that while at times it is useful to have things rushed, it is more appropriate on other occasions to take time in getting the best possible institution that is flexible and responsible and which can adopt and apply the best practices within the context of Barbados with its limitation.

“So if it has taken time in getting to this stage, that time would have been spent trying to fine tune the best type of organisation for this country and that is why we took so long,” he added.