The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas will remain a “very attractive” private banking jurisdiction as long as its Immigration policies allow institutions to bring in external resources and skills when necessary, a top executive says.

Vittorio Cornaro, chief executive of Cornèr Bank/CornèrTrader, told Tribune Business that jurisdictions such as the Bahamas also “have to adapt” to the changing financial services landscape.

Speaking at a reception to mark the opening of a new office for its online trading platform, CornèrTrader.com, at the Old Fort Bay Town Centre, he said many of the bank’s clients in western New Providence had wanted Cornèr Bank to have a closer physical presence.

“We realised that there was a lot of interest from various communities in western New Providence. A lot of clients said they wouldn’t mind us being closer,” said Mr Cornaro.

“In the private banking sector, the business is completely changing. Traditionally, we come from that segment. The fact of having added the online trading, which cost really a fraction in terms of brokerage compared to private banking, comes from various considerations.”

He explained: “Either we brought it or someone else would have, and secondly a lot of people want to be empowered. They don’t want to call a bank; they want to trade off their mobile phone, they want speed.

“Having a private banking mentality, where you still cater to the client and have a technology which is top notch, really separates from many other online brokers. You have a bank with 60-plus years of history.”

CornèrTrader offers clients direct access to the market by allowing them to trade currencies, stocks, options and futures through a number of channels, including desktop, web and portable devices. The bank has 27 employees in the Bahamas.

Mr Cornaro said that with the financial services industry constantly evolving, “you have to adapt. There is nothing else you can do.

“The clients of 20 years ago are not here any more. They have changed. There is a great demand for transparency, which has changed the world. A lot of people have decided to relocate.

“For one kind of clientele you lose, there is a new type of clientele coming. You need to address your offer to this new type of clientele. Clearly, there are still a lot of banks on the old model. How long they can stay like that I don’t know.”

Mr Cornaro added: “I think that the Bahamas remains a very attractive destination as long as it doesn’t close too much in terms of bringing in external resources and skills. For certain clients you need skills. You have skills in the Bahamas, but every now and then you need skills from the outside.”