Around 200 representatives of the Bahamas’ financial services industry attended the one-day Nassau Conference held at the Colonial Hilton Hotel yesterday.

The conference addressed topics important to the sector under the theme Navigating our Future.

“Industry dialogue has never been more important,” noted Andrew Law, chairman of The Nassau Conference, during his opening address. “We live in a world in which the international financial services industry is rapidly changing. We are all aware of these changes. They impact us on a daily basis.”

The event’s agenda included addresses on topics as wide ranging as doing business in Latin America, financial opportunities in the maritime industry and the practicalities of using SMART Funds within trusts and corporate structures.

“The Nassau Conference is an excellent forum for the discussion of issues important to the business and development of financial services in The Bahamas, particuarly in the wealth management business,” said Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance Zhivargo Laing in his address.

“The global economic landscape has been altered, with the new players being the G20 rather than the G7 nations,” he added. “The axis of the global economic community now seems to turn on the fortunes of these G20 countries and the regulatory landscape remains in a state of continuous flux.”

The minister went on to say that he believed that the core principles of “constancy of value, delivering excellent service, adaption, vigilance and responsiveness” continued to play a significant role in this “dynamic and challenging environment.”

Key speakers at the conference included tax and trust lawyer Simon Beck of Baker & McKenzie, as well as local experts such as Brian Moree , partner with McKinney, Bancroft & Hughes, and Stanislaw Bereza, inspector of banks at The Central Bank of The Bahamas.

Law added that the purpose of the conference was not to educate, but to “sow the seeds in enquiring minds.”

Further excerpts and commentary from the conference will be posted on thebahamasinvestor.com over the coming days.