Financial Services

Financial Services

The Trinidad and Tobago International Finance Centre is an onshore financial centre which acts as a gateway to Latin America for financial institutions from North America, Europe and Asia. The agency focuses on attracting foreign institutions as anchor tenants to T&T in the areas of BPO/ Shared Services, Investment Banking, Asset Management amd Professional Services.

Industry Facts

  • 29

    Companies listed on the local stock exchange
  • 10%

    Workforce employed in the financial services sector
  • 8

    Commercial banks with 123 branches around the country
  • 16

    Non-bank financial institutions
  • 442

    Automatic teller machines (or 1 ATM per 3000 persons)

Financial Market Development

Trinidad and Tobago ranks 61st out of 139 economies (see chart below) for the development of its financial market. Sound banking and investment policies and a well- regulated securities exchange ensure that private sector investments are secure.

61st: Trinidad and Tobago
62nd: Barbados
67th: Ireland
87th: Dominican Republic
114th: Nicaragua

Source: Global Competitive Index 2016/2017

Key Players

The Financial Services Industry includes banking and non-banking services as well as regulatory and administration bodies.

Key Activities

T&T's financial sector is regulated by the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago (CBTT) . Commercial bank products and services include local-currency and US-dollar savings and investment instruments, foreign exchange dealings, money market instruments, trade financing, project financing and the floating and underwriting of shares and bonds.

Source of Information: Oxford Business Group

As at December 31st 2015, the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange had 29 listed companies and a market capitalization of USD 17 billion (Source: TTSE)

Why T&T for Financial Services?

  • T&T has an active capital market exemplified by over USD 12 billion worth of debt being issued, during the last 4 years, in the market for governments in the region with room for international expansion.
  • T&T is home to some of the largest commercial banks and financial institutions indigenous to the Caribbean as well as international firms such as the Royal Bank of Canada and Scotiabank.
  • A new enacted Securities Act and expanded insurance regulations support the continued development of the financial sector.
  • A Financial Intelligence Unit exists to deal with anti-money laundering and terrorism financing.
  • The Trinidad and Tobago IFC is developing legislation specific to international finance centres, based on the best, most relevant, international standards and practices.
  • There are qualified accounting graduates in T&T seeking opportunities to fully utilize their technical proficiency.

(Information sourced from TTIFC's website www.ttifc.co.tt)

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