NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (March 21, 2025) – At the STEP Caribbean Conference 2025, the Honourable Mark A. G. Brantley TEP, Premier of Nevis and Minister of Finance in the Nevis Island Administration (NIA), delivered a compelling address on the vital role of small international finance centres (IFCs) in the global economy.
Speaking on May 15 under the theme “International Finance Centers- Lynchpin of the Global Economy,” Premier Brantley tackled long-standing criticisms of IFCs, particularly their frequent characterization as tax havens.
“Critics often portray IFCs simply as tax havens that enable the wealthy to avoid their fiscal responsibilities, erode national tax bases, and facilitate illicit financial flows,” Brantley said. “However, from the vantage point of a jurisdiction like Nevis it is my experience that these centres have played a vital and constructive role in the global economy… Far from being obstacles to global economic development, well-regulated international finance centres are catalysts for inclusive growth, innovation, and global economic stability. They are in fact indispensable to the global economy.”
Premier Brantley argued that globalization has redefined how business is done, and that IFCs provide the necessary legal and regulatory framework to support global investment, trade, and innovation.
“Globalization has championed the principles that businesses should operate where they are most efficient, sell where they are most profitable, and raise capital where it is cheapest. Increasingly, these decisions are transcending national borders, and IFCs provide the critical infrastructure that makes such globalization possible.”
He highlighted the often-overlooked strengths of Caribbean IFCs- including political stability, legal certainty, and a skilled workforce- as enablers of legitimate and impactful global business. He noted that Nevis, like the British Virgin Islands (BVI) and Cayman Islands, plays a key role in providing cross-border solutions that support economic management, risk protection, and tax efficiency.
The Premier cited Nevis’ international insurance company framework as a model that has been evaluated and endorsed by global standard-setting authorities. Addressing the issue of regulatory scrutiny, he pointed out the unequal treatment of smaller jurisdictions.
“While many of the world’s metropolitan financial centres continue to operate business as usual and fly under the radar of the international regulators, IFCs both in Asia and in the Caribbean have enjoyed the laser-focussed attention of these same regulators, ensuring that we attain and maintain enviable standards of transparency and compliance.”
This scrutiny, he argued, enhances the credibility of Caribbean IFCs, making them attractive to global investors seeking both integrity and efficiency.
Premier Brantley also emphasized the development benefits of IFCs to their home jurisdictions. He cited research showing that financial centres foster growth, employment, and cross-border tax revenue. Structures formed in Nevis, such as holding companies and trusts, support onshore activity in the U.S., Europe, Asia, and Latin America.
“The Nevis Business Corporation Ordinance and the Nevis Limited Company Ordinance are two prominent examples of enabling statutes in Caribbean IFCs that facilitate the establishment of international corporate structures. These companies hold subsidiaries that undertake meaningful and profitable endeavours onshore and are a growing portfolio for the IFC jurisdiction.”
Reflecting on Nevis’ 40-year history in financial services, Premier Brantley described its transformative impact.
“Nevis as a small international financial services jurisdiction for the last 40 years has witnessed tremendous development. High quality services in the financial services sector effectively augment our thriving tourism sector… These achievements actually benefit developed economies, which no longer need to provide aid for our developing economies. IFCs can attain self-sufficiency and thereby relieve the global economy of the stresses that come with increased poverty and demands for development assistance.”
The Honourable Brantley concluded with a call for a more nuanced appreciation of small IFCs as well-governed, compliant, and integral to global financial architecture.
The STEP Caribbean Conference 2025, hosted by STEP Nevis, was held May 14-16 at the St. Kitts Marriott Resort, bringing together regional and international experts in wealth management and estate planning to explore the evolving role of international finance centres in the global economy.
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