Under the primary theme of Creating the New Legacy, the International Business & Finance Summit (IBFS) being hosted by the Bahamas Financial Services Board (BFSB) February 6-7 at the Grand Lucayan in Freeport, Grand Bahama, will look at how international financial centres are navigating the winds of change, examine this jurisdiction’s building blocks for a new legacy, and review how tradition can interweave with innovation for customized client solutions.

The session on Tax & Information Exchange: The Reform Agenda will feature two international speakers: Mark Bridges, partner, Farrer & Co (UK) and Jean-Philippe Krafft, wealth planner, Pictet Group (Switzerland).

Bridges will examine the global context of the current debates surrounding the issues of tax and information exchange, looking at this in terms of the historical position, as well as suggesting ways in which The Bahamas can be a prominent player in the future.

Krafft will explain the Swiss perspective on automatic exchange of information. He will outline the challenges of this new Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) standard and discuss possible ways to meet them as well as explore the opportunities that will arise.

The summit will also have several sessions devoted to the Building Blocks: Products & Services considered critical to sustaining the financial services sector. These include a focus on wealth management, family offices, investment funds and, of course, on captives.

Carlos Rodriguez Angulo, chief executive officer of ARM RE (Arthur J Gallagher Colombia Re), Colombia and Peter Strauss, managing member, The Strauss Law Firm, South Carolina will speak to repositioning The Bahamas as a domicile of choice.

Strauss will provide an update on the rapidly recognized reputation of this jurisdiction as a centre for captive insurance planning, and how the recognition is garnering attention from across the globe.

Rodriguez will provide an overview about the strong growth the captive market currently is having in Latin America, highlighting its potential and the profile of companies that will be forming captives in the coming years.