Regulatory Code, 2009

COMPANIES HOLDING TRUST LICENCES PURSUANT TO THE BANKS AND TRUST COMPANIES ACT, 1990

We wish to advise you that the BVI Financial Services Commission recently published the new Regulatory Code, 2009 (the "Code"). A link to the Code is provided below for your perusal. Parts I, II and V of the Code will directly affect the operations of your licensed business.

The Code comes into effect on 1 February 2010. The Code is subsidiary legislation under the Financial Services Commission Act and must be complied with.

Some significant features of the Code:

• Transitional provisions, detailed in Schedule 6 of the Code, which give existing licensees additional time to comply with certain sections of the Code.
• Six major Principles for Business outlined in Part I of the Code which licensees are required to adhere to in the conduct of their licensed businesses.
• Requirement for a resident BVI director.
• Requirement for a compliance officer which in the case of a "managed trust company" may be outsourced.

You may download the entire Code here.

In an effort to assist you with streamlining the implementation of the requirements of the Code, we are happy to discuss the provision of BVI resident director and compliance officer services, as well as preparation of a compliance manual for your licensed business. Please note that we will be contacting you within the next 10 days with our suggestions and recommendations in relation thereto.

In the meantime, if you should have any queries in regard to the above, please do not hesitate to contact Gwenyth Vanterpool at gwenyth.vanterpool@harneys.com.