Prime Minister Perry Christie addresses delegates during the opening ceremony of the 3rd Caribbean Conference on The International Financial Services Sector. The three-day conference is currently being held at the British Colonial Hilton from March 31–April 2. (BIS Photo/Peter Ramsay)

Prime Minister Perry Christie has said that creativity and innovation are the determinants of success in the financial services sector.

Christie made the remark during the opening ceremony for the 3rd Caribbean Conference on The International Financial Services Sector. The three-day conference is being held at the British Colonial Hilton March 31-April 2.

“We are of the firm belief that the future of financial services is not just in the efficient and effective provision of services, such as ensuring that we have fast turn around times or that we are cost efficient … No, the future of the financial services sector also relies on creativity and innovation.”

“The future of [The Bahamas as a financial centre] relies on having a sufficient number of high quality financial services professionals with the depth and breadth of skills needed for a modern, innovative financial services industry,” he said.

Prime Minister Christie also pointed out the importance of a well-developed educational system that is accessible to all. In addition, he said that early education must be “bolstered.”

“We must also improve at the tertiary and professional levels to ensure that a sufficient number of our citizens have the necessary skills to perform well and to think critically on the job.”

He said that several factors determine how attractive a jurisdiction would be to potential offshore business. He pointed to factors including: the geographic proximity to clients and important markets; policy factors such as how easy it is to do business in a country and the quality of your infrastructure; and, the availability of skilled local talent.

From this perspective, the Prime Minister said that regional governments need to focus on developing a strategic human development policy.

“Countries in this hemisphere (and I am talking about both the Caribbean and Latin America) must address the skills gap, because they constrain what we can do and how we compete for mobile capital,” he said.

He said that he has directed the Minister of Financial Services to work with all relevant institutions within the Bahamian government and outside of the government to ensure that Bahamians are ready for the changing realities in the financial services sector.

Prime Minister Perry Christie chats with Minister of Financial Services Ryan Pinder (left) during the opening ceremony of the 3rd Caribbean Conference on The International Financial Services Sector. The three-day conference is currently being held at the British Colonial Hilton from March 31–April 2. (BIS Photo/Peter Ramsay)