Finance Minister seeks to cut BVI’s over-reliance on financial services

Premier and Minister of Finance Dr Natalio Wheatley has indicated that the BVI’s over-reliance on its financial services industry, one of its two main economic pillars, should not be allowed to continue.

The Premier was at the time addressing some of the challenges faced by the BVI as it navigates the implementation of the Commission of Inquiry’s (COI) recommendations through its proposal to the United Kingdom (UK).

In terms of government revenue, the Finance Minister said he does not expect that, moving forward, financial services will be able to play the role it has in the past.

“We face challenges to our financial services industry which is of course something that [has] been very well regulated and we’ve had some very strong leadership in financial services for many years,” Premier Wheatley said on the Umoja radio show recently.

He noted that the territory’s tourism industry – the second of its two economic pillars — is something that would have to be strengthened, along with other efforts aimed at diversifying the BVI’s economy.