The world’s leading figures in educating and training professional financial services providers are set to meet in The Bahamas next week to discuss the way forward in creating a more progressive industry.

The 19th World Conference of Banking and Finance Institutes (WCBFI) will welcome delegates from key trading partners, such as the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, along with representatives from emerging and developed markets such as India, Brazil and Hong Kong.

The conference runs March 20-23 at Atlantis Paradise Island.

“We are hoping that we can share our experiences, particularly since The Bahamas runs a very sophisticated banking system, comparable with any other financial services jurisdiction in the world,” says Kim Bodie, executive director of the Bahamas Institute of Financial Services, the main organizer of the event. “I’m very elated as the head of this Institute to have this opportunity to showcase the intellectual capital of our financial services industry and, particularly, how well we do financial services in this country.”

The primary role of Banking and Finance Institutes is to support the financial sector through the provision of organized education, training and professional development programmes for the sector’s employees.

Held every two years, the world conference brings together expert practitioners from the mainstream financial services sector. It provides a forum for the exchange of knowledge, while helping banking and finance institutes’ executives stay abreast of changes in the global financial markets.

Held under the patronage of BIFS founder Timothy Baswell (T B)?Donaldson, the theme of this year’s conference is “Creating a Progressive Financial Services Environment:?Trust, Accountability, Competence, Innovation.”

“Trust has been lost since the collapse of the markets. Various, big financial institutions have really let their customers down. Matters of trust and accountability were not adhered to,”?says Bodie.

Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Hubert Ingraham and Minister of State for Finance Zhivargo Laing are expected to make keynote addresses at the conference.

Simon Thompson, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Bankers in Scotland will tackle the subject of “Rebuilding Trust in Financial Services,” a pertinent topic following the collapse of major US financial institutions.

The conference will also examine the issue of trust and accountability from the local perspective, with a presentation by the governor of the Central Bank of The Bahamas Wendy Craigg.

William Heuseler, chief wealth planning officer and head of wealth planning international at Itaú Private Bank International, will deliver the Brazilian perspective on international estate planning as a tool for succession, tax and asset protection planning.

Another speaker, Stephen Hart, executive vice president and chief credit officer for Scotiabank will address “The resilience of Canadian Financial Institutions.”?

“This is a great undertaking for BIFS,”?says Bodie. “The Bahamas is represented as a group of small dots on the map of the globe, but our institute has gained the respect of our counterparts throughout the world and, as a result, we won the bid to host this conference.”

tblair@dupuch.com