BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS Law and Practice Contributed by: Omonike Robinson-Pickering, Iona Wright, Lucy Frew and Sara Hall, Walkers
fees, along with associated premises, immigra - tion and labour costs. “Banking business” means the business of accepting deposits of money which may be withdrawn or repaid on demand or after a fixed period/notice, by cheque or otherwise and the employment of such deposits, either in whole or in part: • in making or giving loans, advances, over - drafts, guarantees or similar facilities; or • the making of investments, for the account and at the risk of the person accepting such deposits. The holder of a restricted class I or II banking licence must not: • take deposits from any person resident in the BVI other than another licensee or a com - pany incorporated, continued or re-registered under the Business Companies Act; • invest in any asset that represents a claim on any person resident in the BVI except a claim resulting from a transaction with another licensee or the purchase of bonds or other securities issued by the government, a statu - tory corporation or a company in which the government is the sole or majority beneficial owner; or • without the written approval of the FSC, carry on any business in the BVI other than the business for which the restricted class I or class II banking licence has been obtained. Restricted Class II banking licensees must also not receive or solicit funds by way of trade or business from persons other than those listed in any undertaking accompanying the application for the licence.
The holder of a BVI bank licence does not need to comply with the Financing and Money Ser - vices Act, Revised Edition 2020 (as amended), which licenses financing businesses and money services businesses. BVI banks do not have access to the European passporting system. 3. Changes in Control 3.1 Requirements for Acquiring or Increasing Control Over a Bank Prior written approval to disposing of or acquiring a “significant interest” in a BVI bank is required from the FSC. “Significant interest” is defined in summary as a holding or interest in the bank or in any parent of the bank that entitles a person, directly or indirectly, to: • control 10% or more of the voting rights of the bank; • a share of 10% or more in any distribution made by the bank; • a share of 10% or more in any distribution of the surplus assets of the bank; or • appoint or remove one or more directors of the bank. The FSC approval will focus on whether the person(s) seeking to acquire a significant inter - est in the bank satisfy its fit and proper criteria, set out in the BVI Regulatory Code. Change in control notifications are usually sub - mitted by way of letter to the FSC with appropri - ate supporting documents such as transaction structure charts, transaction documentation and the constitutional documents of the relevant entities involved. Recent BVI change in con - trol approvals have taken between 2–3 months
64
CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook