On Wednesday evening, the Bahamas Millennials Society (BMS) hosted a distinguished lecture. Guest speaker, Mr. Anthony C. Ferguson, Principal of CFAL presented candid insights into the current state of the financial services industry. He asserted that it was his view that “Private banking is dead” in light of the impact of global initiatives and declared that “we are at a crossroads and need to hit the reset button and determine where we want to go” as an international financial centre. Ferguson went out to list and describe some of the headwinds facing the industry. Ferguson emphasized the impact of cost of doing business in The Bahamas, de-risking, the changing landscape and the impact of technology on financial services and increased global regulation among other things. He also noted that we need to effectively implement policy to support growth in the financial services.
Nonetheless, despite the challenges he stressed that there are opportunities that we must leverage in the short to medium term if we are to remain competitive. Ferguson pointed out the positive tailwinds for the Bahamas. He encouraged the millennials to take advantage of the opportunities in the investment management side of business including middle office functions, trading houses, and asset management. The emergence of FINTECH was something that should not be ignored. However, key to making the most of the opportunities was individual productivity.
After his presentation the floor was opened to the audience for questions where matters concerning the impact of The Common Reporting Standard the role of the compliance function and whether there is opportunity in the insurance industry were addressed.
The Bahamas Millennials Society (BMS) is a voluntary membership-based programme open to millennials (person born between 1979 – 1993) who are employees of BFSB member firms, and to students studying full-time or part time in a degree related to financial services, law, technology or real estate, either at the College of the Bahamas or abroad. BMS was established in November of 2014 and the three key objectives that underpin the BMS program are exposure, networking and mentorship. The aim ultimately is to ensure the continued growth of our industry.
