By NEILL HARTNELL

TRIBUNE Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas International Securities Exchange’s (BISX) chief executive last night voiced optimism that a renewed push for mandatory private pensions will finally end a 20-year wait for progress on an issue “we don’t focus on as a society”.

Keith Davies acknowledged to Tribune Business that the Securities Commission’s proposal that all private employers be required by law to establish pension, or retirement savings plans, for their employees could aid further growth and liquidity on BISX and the wider Bahamian capital markets by creating a larger pool of savings capital seeking an investment home.

He spoke after the Securities Commission, in its just-released 2025 annual report, said it plans to revive calls for private pensions to be made compulsory for all working Bahamians as part of a broader research report on further developing the Bahamian capital markets.

It added that, if such proposals became law, it would benefit both the capital markets by increasing the available pool of investor capital and making them more “robust”, and wider Bahamian society by ensuring retirees have greater savings to draw upon and do not become a burden for their family or taxpayers.

“The Commission continued its research of the domestic capital markets with the aim of developing a paper that analyses the capital markets and makes recommendations that, if implemented, should lead to a more liquid and diverse capital markets in The Bahamas,” the regulator said of its ongoing activities.

“The focus areas of the analysis covered the domestic capital markets inclusive of public offerings, investor protection measures, investor education and exchange practices….

“During 2025, the Commission continued developing an addendum to the capital markets paper. The addendum reviews the link between domestic institutional savings, capital market development and economic growth evident in various international markets, and proposes that the Government of The Bahamas adopts legislation requiring that all private sector Bahamian employers establish occupational pension plans for their employees,” the 2025 annual report added.

“If adopted, the mandatory private pension legislation should promote retail and institutional investor participation in The Bahamas’ capital markets, making them more robust and promoting liquidity, while simultaneously bolstering individuals’ future retirement savings.”

Mr Davies, while conceding that the mandatory private pension proposal is not new, nevertheless backed the Securities Commission’s plan to revive the idea. “I think it’s encouraging that stance is being taken by the Securities Commission,” he told Tribune Business. “It’s not a new stance. We, being BISX, would have made that recommendation almost 20 years ago.

“We support legislation, and actions, to develop pension reform and to create an environment where companies and individuals start thinking about retirement properly because that’s not something we focus on as a society and country. As previously, we support it, it’s long overdue and we look forward to what comes forward.”

The Christie administration attempted to initiate pension industry regulation via a Bill brought to the House of Assembly in 2013. Although it made it to a second reading and full debate, the Bill has never progressed into law.

The legislation is thought to have become “bogged down”, making it to the House committee stage where “it died”, with others describing the Bill as “probably gathering dust”. Some observers suggested that provisions making it mandatory for all employers to provide pensions became controversial, as the Bill was seen as effectively imposing another “tax obligation” on the private sector.

Mr Davies, meanwhile, told this newspaper that mandatory pension legislation, and the pool of investment capital it will create, are no single cure-all or panacea for the Bahamian capital markets. He explained that it needed to also unleash financial services creativity, with new products, services and listings that can offer a home to these funds and generate sought-after investment returns.

“In terms of the capital markets, we need to have several things coming together to help grow the market,” he said. “We need scale, we need liquidity with more persons and entities entering the arena, and when we create mandatory private pension legislation we will have a pool of funds that need a place to be invested.

“To follow that up, the market also needs avenues for those funds to flow through. We need new products, new services, new structures that those pension funds can flow into. We need people to create structures for that capital. The exchange [BISX] is literally the last mile. When you create something, it finds a home on the exchange. We are hoping those structures that will be created will seek out a home by listing on the exchange.

“The opportunity for new capital, and opportunity for new structures and vehicles, comes together with the new opportunity for savings and investments.”

Christina Rolle, the Securities Commission’s executive director, writing in the 2025 annual report, said the most significant reform that affected its work last year was the legislation that gave it “responsibility for the supervision, oversight, management and enforcement of the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) for the financial institutions we regulate”.

The CRS is the global automatic exchange of tax information standard overseen by the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD). “Much of 2025 was devoted to preparing our registrants and licensees for two assessments critical to the continued success of The Bahamas’ financial services industry: The OECD’s CRS peer review for the automatic exchange of financial account information (AEOI), and the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) mutual evaluation - both scheduled for 2026,” Ms Rolle added.

“While readiness preparation is ongoing, the progress achieved to date reflects high standards of regulatory excellence and reaffirms The Bahamas’ commitment to transparency, compliance and international co-operation. Beyond the OECD assessment, our participation in peer reviews and international evaluations more broadly allows us to assess and refine our practices, and remain at the forefront of global regulatory developments.”

As for compliance issues, Ms Rolle added: “Our enforcement and regulatory functions were further strengthened in 2025, evidenced by the issuance of penalties for non-compliance and the Supreme Court of The Bahamas’ approval of an agreement regarding FTX Digital Markets.

“Under this agreement, the joint official liquidators were permitted to subordinate the Commission’s regulatory claim under the Digital Assets and Registered Exchanges Act (DARE Act) - a case that underscores the effectiveness of our regulatory framework in resolving complex cross-border concerns and achieving fair outcomes for all stakeholders.”