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Madam Speaker,
I rise today in this Honourable House with profound gratitude for the opportunity to represent the beautiful people of Cat Island, Rum Cay, and San Salvador, as well as gratitude for the opportunity to serve the people of this nation over the past four and a half years.
It has been a profound journey, Madam Speaker.
When this administration took office in September 2021, our country faced a number of serious challenges.
We inherited an economy that was still struggling to recover from Hurricane Dorian and the pandemic.
The unemployment rate was struggling to recover from record highs.
Confidence across several key sectors of the economy had been shaken.
And within weeks of taking office, the country was downgraded by both Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s.
At the time, our financial services industry, one of the pillars of our economy, was facing the prospect of blacklisting due to poorly executed measures by our predecessors.
That is the challenging reality we inherited.
But this administration did not shrink from those challenges.
We confronted it.
We rolled up our sleeves, worked with regulators and industry professionals, passed the legislation required, and strengthened the systems needed to restore confidence in The Bahamas.
Today, the results speak for themselves.
The European Union removed The Bahamas from its blacklist.
Less than a year later, France followed suit.
Under this administration, The Bahamas became just the sixth country in the world to achieve “largely compliant” status with all forty Financial Action Task Force Recommendations.
Out of nearly two hundred jurisdictions across the world, at that time, only six countries had arrived at that level of compliance.
And The Bahamas was one of them.
So, when we speak today about strengthening our financial services framework, we do so with the track record to back it up.
Where our predecessors left us exposed, this administration restored confidence.
Where others allowed our reputation to falter, this administration rebuilt it.
That is something this House should celebrate.
Because the strength of our financial services sector matters immensely to our economy and our people.
It represents quality jobs for Bahamians, opportunities for young professionals entering the workforce, and growth for local firms that provide services to clients across the world.
Financial services is one of the highest-paying sectors of the Bahamian economy, and every step we take to strengthen it expands opportunity for our people.
Madam Speaker,
The global financial system is evolving rapidly.
Technology is transforming how capital moves across borders.
New financial instruments are emerging.
And new forms of investment are appearing that would have been unimaginable just a decade ago.
Jurisdictions that stand still will fall behind, while jurisdictions that adapt intelligently will thrive.
This administration has made it clear which path we intend to follow.
We have strengthened our Digital Assets and Registered Exchanges framework, positioning The Bahamas as a leader in responsible digital asset regulation.
We have introduced the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax, ensuring that The Bahamas remains aligned with evolving international tax standards while generating new revenue from the largest multinational corporations.
And we are modernising the infrastructure that supports our financial services industry through initiatives such as the Digital Corporate Administrative Registry Service Portal.
In a rapidly changing world, The Bahamas has remained adaptive and nimble.
We have remained forward-looking.
And the three Bills before this House today represent the next step in our journey.
Madam Speaker,
The first Bill before this House is the Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information (Amendment) Bill, 2026.
This Bill strengthens The Bahamas’ framework for the automatic exchange of financial account information under the global Common Reporting Standard or CRS.
Over the past decade, countries around the world have worked together to improve transparency in international financial systems.
Jurisdictions participating in the CRS exchange financial account information automatically with partner countries, allowing tax authorities to ensure that financial assets held abroad are properly reported.
The Bahamas joined this framework in 2016, and since then, the global standards governing its implementation have continued to evolve.
This amendment strengthens our system in several important ways.
It clarifies the reporting obligations of financial institutions and ensures that even institutions with no reportable accounts must submit nil returns, ensuring greater consistency and transparency.
It introduces clearer registration requirements for financial institutions and strengthens the authority of regulators to conduct compliance reviews.
It also provides additional enforcement tools to ensure that reporting obligations are taken seriously.
It establishes a CRS Steering Committee, bringing together representatives from the key regulatory agencies responsible for overseeing this system and ensuring that it operates effectively in an advisory capacity.
These reforms are essential to protecting the international reputation of The Bahamas as a compliant, responsive, and transparently regulated jurisdiction.
In this sector, reputation is everything.
This administration understands this fact, and we have done all we can to ensure that our reputation remains stellar.
Thanks to our efforts, today and over the past four years, investors, institutions, and international partners have confidence that The Bahamas operates according to the highest standards of transparency and regulatory integrity.
Where we once faced blacklists, today we stand as one of the most compliant jurisdictions in the world.
That is progress.
And it is progress that this administration will continue to build on.
Madam Speaker,
The second Bill before this House is the Decentralised Autonomous Organisations Bill, 2026.
Over the past decade, the emergence of blockchain technology and digital assets has given rise to new forms of organisation and governance that operate very differently from traditional companies.
One of the most significant of these developments is the rise of Decentralised Autonomous Organisations, or DAOs.
Unlike traditional corporations, which are governed by boards of directors and executive management teams, DAOs operate through decentralised decision-making processes facilitated by blockchain technology.
These organisations are already managing billions of dollars in digital assets globally. Yet many jurisdictions have struggled to provide clear legal frameworks in which they can operate.
Without legal recognition, DAOs face uncertainty regarding liability, contractual obligations, and regulatory compliance.
Well, Madam Speaker, we are officially one of the only countries in the world that will successfully regulate DAOs through the Bill before us today.
This Bill establishes a framework through which DAOs may register and operate legally within The Bahamas. It ensures that such organisations meet appropriate governance standards while maintaining the decentralised principles that define them.
Under the Bill, DAOs seeking to operate from The Bahamas must register with the Securities Commission.
They must submit a governance document outlining their decision-making processes, maintain transparency regarding their governance tokens and voting structures, and undergo periodic smart contract audits to ensure the security and reliability of their technological infrastructure.
They will also be required to appoint a responsible person who will serve as the point of accountability within the jurisdiction. This is key, as it establishes clear responsibility.
With this Bill, the billions currently being managed by DAOs will have a potential home right here in The Bahamas, as one of the few jurisdictions in the world with such a sophisticated framework for the regulation of digital assets.
This Bill sends a clear message to the world that The Bahamas is not done innovating in the digital assets space.
We will continue to embrace innovation.
But we will pursue innovation responsibly.
We will build a regulatory environment that encourages technological progress while protecting our jurisdiction’s reputation and safeguarding the interests of investors and participants.
And in doing so, we continue to position The Bahamas as a jurisdiction capable of supporting the next generation of fintech innovation.
Madam Speaker,
The third Bill before this House is the Usufruct Interest Bill, 2026.
This Bill introduces into Bahamian law a concept that has long been used in sophisticated wealth management and inheritance arrangements around the world, particularly in civil-law systems, such as those in Europe. It is a relatively rare concept in common law jurisdictions; however, given changing market dynamics, we are now introducing it into Bahamian law.
By embracing this change, we are placing The Bahamas in a very interesting and appealing position as it relates to expanding our financial services and wealth management offerings to existing and new markets.
Under a usufruct arrangement, the legal owner of a property may grant another person the right to use the property and receive its economic benefits for a specified period of time, while ownership itself remains unchanged.
For example, a parent may transfer ownership of certain assets, such as property, investments, or securities, to the next generation while retaining the right to receive the income generated by those assets during their lifetime. Or the surviving spouse may be granted permission to reside in a property even though ownership has passed to the children.
This type of arrangement is often used to allow families to plan the transfer of wealth in a structured, orderly manner while preserving the original owner’s economic security.
This Bill establishes a clear legal framework governing the creation, registration, duration, and termination of usufruct interests.
It outlines the rights and obligations of both the owner and the party receiving the benefits. It establishes procedures for registration and public record keeping and provides mechanisms for resolving disputes should they arise.
This Bill also allows usufruct interests to apply not only to traditional forms of property, such as real estate and securities, but also to modern assets including digital assets and intellectual property rights. This is truly an expansive and modern application of the concept.
It is groundbreaking, Madam Speaker.
And it opens the door to a whole new world of wealth management and inheritance arrangements.
By introducing this framework, this Bill expands the range of legal tools available to wealth managers, trust professionals, and investors who structure complex financial arrangements in The Bahamas.
In doing so, it strengthens the jurisdiction’s competitiveness in an increasingly sophisticated global wealth management and estate planning sector.
This is significant because when we expand the capabilities of our financial services sector, we also expand opportunities for Bahamian professionals and firms. And that is always our number one priority.
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Madam Speaker,
When considered together, the three Bills before this House reflect a broader strategic vision for the future of financial services in The Bahamas.
They recognise that the global financial landscape is evolving rapidly and that jurisdictions must adapt in order to remain competitive.
We are reinforcing our credibility by strengthening transparency and compliance frameworks through the amendments to the automatic exchange of financial account information regime.
We are embracing innovation by establishing a legal framework that accommodates new forms of digital organisations and governance structures through the DAO Bill.
And we are expanding our capacity for advanced financial structuring through the introduction of usufruct interests, providing additional tools for wealth management and estate planning within our jurisdiction.
This balanced approach is essential.
A successful financial services centre must combine strong regulatory credibility with openness to innovation and a legal framework that supports complex financial arrangements.
The Bahamas has long demonstrated that it can achieve that balance.
These Bills ensure that we continue to do so in the years ahead.
Madam Speaker,
We are focused on bringing in new investors and wealth into our system.
And we are equally focused on ensuring that Bahamian professionals benefit from this growth.
We want to see Bahamian lawyers structuring these transactions, Bahamian accountants advising global clients, and Bahamian compliance professionals and financial analysts driving innovation within our jurisdiction.
When the financial services industry grows, so do opportunities.
This growth translates to new career paths, better-paying jobs, and a more competitive presence in the global financial services industry.
Our goal is simple: to bolster The Bahamas’ position as a leading global financial services jurisdiction and to ensure Bahamian professionals are at the centre of that leadership.
The Bills before this House today reflect a clear and forward-looking strategy for the future of financial services in The Bahamas.
Where our predecessors left us vulnerable to blacklisting, this administration restored our reputation.
Where others allowed uncertainty to grow, this administration brought stability.
And today, Madam Speaker, we continue that work.
These Bills strengthen our financial services framework.
They position The Bahamas to compete successfully in a rapidly evolving global marketplace.
And most importantly, they expand opportunities for Bahamian professionals and Bahamian institutions.
For these reasons, Madam Speaker, I commend these Bills to this Honourable House as an important step forward for our financial services industry as a central pillar of economic growth.
Thank you.