Finance
TCI Finance Launched at Corporate Event
Dana Malcolm
Staff Writer
#TurksandCaicos, March 21, 2024 – The Turks and Caicos must diversify its income and TCI Finance will play a key role in that process according to Paul Pirie, CEO of the company. Pirie was speaking at a March 4, corporate launch.
“During the pandemic it was painfully obvious the need for economic diversification— our very close neighbors the Cayman Islands
He maintained that financial services were an incredibly resilient industry pointing out record years of profit recorded by banks like JP Morgan during the pandemic.
“Financial services make money in any condition,” he stressed.
TCI Finance was born out of recommendations from a 2018 review of the local finance industry and Pirie revealed its mission and vision. The mission of the two-man organization is to protect, promote, develop and grow the TCI financial services industry through engagement and collaboration with domestic and international governments, regulators, organizations, citizens and media.
The vision was to create a sustainable and inclusive financial landscape, delivering elite financial services to forward thinking investors and a place where businesses, communities, families and ecosystems thrive together.
In order to successfully carry out its mandate TCI Finance identified four core pillars to work off of including Proper financial infrastructure, growth of existing businesses, innovation and marketing.
The CEO explained that outside of diversifying the economy, the exponential growth in businesses and capital locally would need matching growth in the financial services sector anyway.
“We can all see around us the incredible growth that’s happening on the islands right now but this growth requires a huge amount of ancillary services. A service critical to any economy is financial services,” he continued “it’s much more than banking. I’m talking about regulatory compliance, wealth management, investment banking, insurance, accounting, auditing. It’s a huge array of services.”
Pirie maintained that despite great potential, right now the TCI isn’t the place of choice for finance.
“I asked our compliance team [at JP Morgan] would you consider doing business in the Turks and Caicos and they said absolutely not; not because it has a bad reputation because its not on the list.”
The goal then, of TCI Finance, the sister agency to Invest TCI, is to establish the islands as a key player on the global finance map. TCI Finance does answer to an established board of government and private sector reps. That board was introduced by Former Chair and Minister of Finance E Jay Saunders who oversaw the creation of TCI Finance. The Board includes:
- Chair – Minister of Finance
- Vice-Chair – David Stewart (in his capacity as President of the FIA)
- Angela Musgrove (in her capacity as CEO of Invest TCI)
- Athenee Harvey-Basden (in her capacity as PS, Ministry of Finance)
- Niguel Streete (in his capacity as CEO, Turks and Caicos Financial Services Commission)
- Drexwell Seymour, Certified Public Accountant
- Mr Marcus Samuel (in his capacity as Chair of the Bankers association)
- Sally-Ann Astwood (appointed by the Hon. Leader of the Opposition)
- Ryan Blain (on behalf of the accountancy association)
- Rochelle Musgrove
- Ervine Quelch (corporate development, former NIB board member)
Washington Misick, TCI Premier and current Finance Minister maintained that this push was to make the TCI a leader in Financial Services.
”We want to be careful that our appetite for risk does not confine us to being followers,” he said.
Misick gave his full support to TCI Finance at the event.
”The government is committed to this and we will see it through regardless because at the end of the day the multiplier effect of having TCI Finance reverberates through the entire economy,” he maintained.
While it does this, Independent of the government and the private sector the team is foremost interested in helping local businesses and stakeholders according to Pirie.
“TCI Finance is here for you, the things you need come and see us, call us, email us. We’re here to help you. We’re a non-profit organization so we are here to help grow your business and help you attract new business.”
TCI Finance is located above its sister agency Invest Turks and Caicos Agency at Courtyard Plaza on Leeward Highway.