Five New Commissioners Appointed to the British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission Board of Commissioners - Press Release No. 2 of 2014

Thursday, 13 November, 2014

FIVE NEW COMMISSIONERS APPOINTED TO THE BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS FINANCIAL SERVICES COMMISSION BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

Tortola, British Virgin Islands – 13 November, 2014 – The British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission today announced the appointments of five new Commissioners to its Board. The new members of the Board of Commissioners were appointed by Cabinet effective 1 October, 2014 as required by Section 5(2) of the Financial Services Commission Act, 2001 (the “Act”). The newly appointed Commissioners are Ms. Denise Reovan, Mr. Ian Smith, Mr. Richard Peters and external Commissioners, Mr. Jonathan Fiechter and Mr. Edward Price. The FSC Act provides for the appointment of two external Commissioners to be appointed from outside the Territory.

The five new members of the Board join continuing members Chairman Mr. Robin Gaul, Deputy Chairman Mr. Colin O’Neal and Managing Director/CEO of the FSC Mr. Robert Mathavious. Four of the newly appointed members took their Oath of Confidentiality administered by Registrar of the High Court, Mrs. Erica Smith-Penn, on the morning of 21 October, minutes before the Board convened for its October meeting. Mr. Price, one of the external Commissioners was unable to attend.

A special two day Board of Commissioners meeting provided an orientation for new members and the opportunity for members to receive presentations from the Commission’s Division Directors.

Speaking on the appointments of the new Commissioners, Chairman Gaul commented, “I am pleased to welcome the new members to the Board of Commissioners. I am certain that their expertise and insights will be extremely beneficial to the Board and management and the continued good governance of the Commission.”

He further added, “I also take this opportunity to express my appreciation to the retiring members of the Board for their valuable contributions over the years and their support and cooperation during my term as Chairman.”

The newly appointed Commissioners replace previous Commissioners Ms. Eleanor Smith, Mr. E. Walwyn Brewley and Mr. Phillip Fenty whose appointments to the Board expired.

Synopsis on the newly appointed Commissioners

Ms. Denise Reovan resident of Virgin Gorda is an attorney whose legal career spanned the private and public sectors and as sole practitioner in her own law firm in the neighbouring US Virgin Islands. Over the years she served as Counsel to the Chief Labour Negotiator, Chief Legal Counsel to the Legislature of the Virgin Islands and Counsel to the Board of Directors of the Government Employees Retirement System.

Mr. Ian Smith has enjoyed a long career in both public and private sectors and was most recently Senior Vice President at Banco Popular. Prior to his career in banking, Mr. Smith served as an Economist with the Government of the Virgin Islands. He currently operates a financial, economic and management consulting company and is the Chief Operating Officer of a family owned group of companies.

Mr. Richard Peters is an attorney who recently retired as the Global Managing Partner of local law firm Harneys. Over the years, he has worked closely with the Government of the Virgin Islands and the FSC as a member of numerous financial services related committees.

Mr. Jonathan Fiechter is a former bank supervisor who among other activities now serves as a consultant to overseas governments and agencies including the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. He has extensive expertise in the area of regulation, financial supervision, economic research and risk analysis having previously held the posts of Deputy Director, Monetary and Capital Markets at the IMF and Senior Deputy Comptroller for International and Economic Affairs at the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Mr. Edward Price is a senior financial industry executive and regulator who has worked for many years in the US and Canada. Mr. Price has vast experience in the areas of banking and insurance supervision, derivatives and risk management and has recently retired as the Deputy Superintendent at the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions in Canada.

Pictured from L to R; Back Row: Board Secretary – Annet Mactavious, Managing Director/CEO – Robert Mathavious, Commissioners Ian Smith and Jonathan Fiechter. Middle Row: Deputy Chairman – Colin O’Neal and Commissioners Denise Reovan and Richard Peters. Front Row: Chairman – Robin Gaul. Not pictured Commissioner Edward Price.

About the British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission

The BVI Financial Services Commission is an autonomous regulatory agency responsible for the regulation and supervision of financial services conducted in and from within the Territory.

Appointments to the Board of Commissioners are governed by provisions in the Financial Services Commission Act.

Members are appointed for staggered terms to ensure continuity on the Board. Current appointments are as indicated below:

Denise Reovan 2 years

Ian Smith 3 years

Richard Peters 2 years

Edward Price 2 years

Jonathan Fiechter 3 years

For further information, please contact:

Corporate Communications

BVI Financial Services Commission

Pasea Estate, Tortola, British Virgin Islands

Tel: (284) 494-4190