Bahamas bank gets offshore license

SAFRA Bank (Cyprus), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Banco Safra (Bahamas) Ltd of the Bahamas, was yesterday granted a banking business license to operate on an offshore basis on the island.

The Safra Group is a US-based banking group, which operates through several subsidiary banks internationally. It already maintains an offshore presence in Cyprus, in the form of two administered banking units.

Safra Bank (Cyprus) Ltd will operate as an administered banking unit. The Bank of Cyprus Ltd will be acting as the administering bank and will carry out the day-to-day operations.

Safra Bank (Cyprus) Ltd will only deal in foreign currencies and with other offshore companies and non-residents of Cyprus. It will be subject to the supervision and inspection of the Central Bank of Cyprus, as well as the supervision of the Central Bank of the Bahamas.

There are currently 28 offshore banking units on the island, as well as three administered banking units and five representative offices, which are licensed to operate from Cyprus on an offshore basis.

Despite the prospect of EU accession, which could threaten the island’s offshore regime, the island’s policy of promoting the sector remains as determined as ever.

The government argues that an EU provision allows certain members a grace period to keep their offshore business for a fixed length of time.

Cyprus’ offshore sector — with more than 30,000 registered companies — accounts for four per cent of GDP and employs hundreds of local staff.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.