| Country Manuals Private Banking – BERMUDA OUT OF BANK’S COUNTRY OF ESTABLISHMENT (Def, RS, BT & RT) Regulatory Template Material changes The Manual has been reviewed to ensure that its content remains accurate and in accordance with an evolving interpretation of the legal and regulatory framework. While the legal framework as such has not been significantly amended since the last update, our local experts have suggested to adapt certain approaches on the basis of an evolving interpretation of the regulatory framework: – Reverse solicitation: Although the financial regulation of Bermuda does not recognize the concept of reverse solicitation, activities undertaken on a reverse solicitation basis on-site or via remote means of communication seems to be permitted (current interpretation of the regulatory framework). Services rendered following reverse solicitation must not result from, or be in connection with, a solicitation from the Bank. Reverse solicitation must be duly documented for all activities conducted on a passive basis both onsite and via remote means of communication. – The following activities conducted via remote means of communication on a passive basis are now represented by a Grey Zone/Yes: • Presenting the Bank and its services, as well as, providing the Bank’s annual report, press review, marketing brochures and documentation on the Bank’s services. • Pre-contractual activities (such as providing, explaining the terms and conditions, assisting with the signing and collection of the signed document) with respect to an account opening form, investment advisory agreement and discretionary asset management agreement. • Offering additional services and conducting related activities (debit card, credit card and Lombard credit). • Providing general advice (generic and personalised recommendation lists). • Providing investment advice (with or without an ongoing advisory agreement – spot advice). As the Companies Act generally prohibits overseas companies from engaging in or carrying on any trade or business in Bermuda without a permit, a slightly more restrictive approach has been taken for the undertaking of the above activities via remote means of communication into Bermuda. Implications for business relations with third parties There have been no substantial changes to the answers when a foreign bank co-operates with third parties. Non-material changes – Several comments have been slightly reworded (without introducing material changes) to reflect the regulatory situation/current interpretation of the regulatory framework more accurately. – For streamlining purposes, several BT conditions have been reworded without introducing material change. – In several instances, the comments for Grey zone/YES have been changed to reflect standardised comments that BRP has adopted as a result of using a new editing platform for the creation of manuals. The underlying reasoning has not changed. Regulatory Summary This document has now a more user-friendly layout and reflects the changes contained in the RT. Behaviour Template The answers in the BT have been aligned to those contained in the RT. BT Short Comparison BRP has created a comparison document allowing users to quickly identify the modifications made compared to the previous version of the PB Manual (BT Short Comparison). The BT Short Comparison can be found on BRP’s platform (mybrponline) in the Search tab by entering in the Document Field “CM PB BT SHORT COMP” and “BERMUDA” in the Target Country Field. The BT Short Comparison should be read as follows: The first column contains a short description of the activity in question. The second column contains the answers of the previous version of the Country Manual (online until the day of the alert). The third column contains the new answers of the most recent version of the Country Manual. Only the modified answers are displayed (in color). If the answers in the new version are unchanged compared to the previous version, they are shaded in grey. Best regards |
