Attending the sessions were over 130 top tier delegates, mainly directors and chief executives, from the likes of Rothchilds; Lehman Brothers; Goldman Sachs; The Foreign and Commonwealth Office; Credit Suisse First Boston; Barclays, and; Morgan Stanley Dean Witter.
Also in attendance were over 30 representatives from international media, including, The Times; BBC Business; BBC World Service; The Financial Times; The Independent and SKY Business. Industry and government leaders from the Bermuda delegation conducted interviews with these media. Other media attending the sessions included, The Telegraph; Global Reinsurance; Portfolio International, and; Financial News.
The format of the seminar provided a prime example of the melding of Bermuda's core competencies. The Premier, the Hon. Jennifer Smith, gave the welcome address and Raymond Medeiros, Chairman of BIBA, presented a jurisdictional overview.
Panel sessions were held on Trusts and Funds, e-Commerce, and Alternative Risk Transfer & Captives. These were moderated by the Hon. C. Eugene Cox, Bermuda's Minister of Finance and the Hon. MD Renee Webb, Minister of Telecommunications and e-Commerce. Raymond Medeiros moderated the Risk Transfer panel.
Once again, Marcus Killick, Engagement Director for the KPMG review team, (responsible for the Review on Financial Regulation in the Caribbean Overseas Territories and Bermuda) joined BIBA as guest speaker for the evening dinner. Mr. Killick proved to be a draw for many UK based business people, who were interested to hear his perspective on the report criteria, and Bermuda's standing in this context.
Raymond Medeiros commented, "BIBA hosts functions such as these to send the message that Bermuda is positioned very securely as a pristine international business jurisdiction in it's own right, and clearly the leader amongst offshore centres."
Mr. Medeiros continued, "The UK business community is conscious of the on-going scrutiny focused on offshore business jurisdictions. Further to the findings of the OECD, FATF and the recent KPMG report, BIBA is making sure the global business community and any potential business partners of the Bermuda market are aware the benefits and high standing of our jurisdiction."
The Bermuda International Business Association (BIBA) is a business organization of Bermuda resident companies who provide quality banking, legal, accounting, financial, trust, management and e-commerce services and products to the international client. BIBA works with the private sector and Government to develop and promote the island as the preeminent offshore business and financial services jurisdiction.