As Chairman of the Virgin Islands Banking Board, Lieutenant Governor Tregenza A. Roach has written to the President and CEO of Oriental Bank, after learning of the acquisition of Bank of Nova Scotia’s U.S. Virgin Islands operations, to apprise the bank of the requirements to do business in the Territory.
In his letter sent on July 2, 2019, Lieutenant Governor Roach conveyed relevant information and statutory requirements regarding the Virgin Islands Banking Board’s regulatory process for banking institutions. “Virgin Islands Law provides that in order for a banking institution to engage in banking business in the USVI, a bank must first submit an application for a permit to organize a bank in the Territory,” said Lt. Governor Roach.
The Lt. Governor explained that in order for the Banking Board to grant the initial permit, it will have to consider the following:
- The banking and commercial ability and experience of the applicant;
- Whether such ability and experience are sufficient to warrant the efficient functioning and operation of the bank;
- Whether local need justifies the application;
- Character and repute, as well as the banking and commercial experience of the prospective directors or officers who are to conduct business of said bank;
- Whether the bank shall be of benefit to the general public;
- The capital which the bank has available for its operations.
The letter to the President and CEO of Oriental Bank included the permit application.
“The permit application is the first step in an investigatory process outlined in the V.I. Code which allows the Banking Board to determine an institution’s readiness to do business and its ability to meet the banking needs of our residents. Director Gwendolyn Hall Brady and the staff of the Division of Banking, Insurance, and Financial Regulation are working closely with Oriental Bank to ensure that the information requested on the permit application is submitted within 45 days, in accordance with Virgin Islands law,” said Lt. Governor Roach.