BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS Law and Practice Contributed by: Omonike Robinson-Pickering, Iona Wright, Lucy Frew and Sara Hall, Walkers
10. DORA 10.1 DORA Requirements
to facilitate a restructuring under the control of an independent court-appointed office-hold - er. The appointment of provisional liquidators does not convey an automatic moratorium as is the case for full-blown liquidation. However, applications to stay claims pending against the company can be made to the court under the insolvency legislation. The BVI is not a member of the FSB, but is part of the Americas Regional Consultative Group established by the FSB to provide a structured mechanism for interaction regarding various FSB initiatives, promote implementation within the region of international financial policy initiatives, and act as a forum to share views on measures that could be taken to promote financial stability. The scope of preferential creditors in a BVI insol - vency is very limited and relates largely to cer - tain, limited, obligations to BVI employees and to the BVI government. Guidelines in the BVI require environmental risk assessment to be included in banks’ lending and investment processes. Environmental impact must be evaluated, both in terms of negative and positive impacts. The BVI offers incentives to banks for sustainable practices, including tax breaks and reduced reserve requirements. Some of the components of the BVI’s sustain - able banking initiative include: • green loans and mortgages; • sustainability-linked bonds; • environmental stress testing; and • reporting and disclosure requirements. 9. ESG 9.1 ESG Requirements
The DORA requirements apply to firms employ - ing ten or more people and that have a turnover and/or annual balance sheet total of more than EUR2 million. Further, DORA applies to all finan - cial entities, including banks, insurance compa - nies, investment firms, payment service pro - viders, and others. DORA, meaning the Digital Operational Resilience Act, is an EU Regulation that will apply from 17 January 2025. While it is an EU Regulation, that does not necessarily only mean that it applies in the EU. If a firm is operat - ing in the EU, the DORA will apply. Therefore, it could be relevant to a firm in a country outside of the EU, such as the BVI. It is related to the entity and its operations in the EU.
11. Horizon Scanning 11.1 Regulatory Developments
As part of the Financial Action Task Force’s Mutual Evaluation of the BVI in 2024, the govern - ment has indicated that it will separate the cur - rent BTCA into two Acts – one for banking busi - ness and one for trust company business. The current timeline of such a separation is unknown.
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