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General Company Overview

Equity Bank Bahamas Limited represents the finest and most demanding qualities of what an institution dedicated to the needs and success of high net worth individuals, families and institutional clients should possess.

Standard/Professional Funds

In addition to SMART Funds there are three other classes of Funds in The Bahamas: Standard, Professional and Recognised Foreign.

A recognized legal structure in The Bahamas that issues or has equity interests the purpose or effect of which is the pooling of investor funds with the aim of spreading investment risks and achieving profits or gains from the acquisition, holding, management or disposal of investments. This type of fund does not fit the definition of a Professional Fund, a SMART Fund or a Recognized Foreign Fund.

The Bahamas SMART Fund

The Specific Mandate Alternative Regulatory Test Fund (SMART© Fund) was introduced under the Investment Funds Act, 2003, as an additional style of a collective investment vehicle. It was designed to provide industry with a new private wealth management tool with the flexibility to find application within areas not traditionally associated with investment fund administration. The primary facility offered by the SMART Fund concept is an open architecture which allows practitioners to design innovative structures, akin at times to special purpose vehicles, without reference to inflexible regulatory criteria predefined in legislation.

ICON Fund

An investment condominium is established under the Investment Condominium Act, 2014 It is a contractual relationship between one or more participants who have pooled assets for the purposes of operating as an investment fund, and an investment condominium must be licensed as an investment fund under the Investment Funds Act. It may be formed to operate as an open-ended fund (in which participants can call for redemption of their interests) or a closed ended fund (in which they may not).

It is an entity without legal personality but, when represented by its administrator, is able to hold assets in its own name, enter into agreements and sue or be sued in its own name.

Segregated Account Companies

Segregated Accounts Companies (SACs) were introduced with the passing of the Segregated Accounts Companies Act 2004. SACs, also called Protected Cell Companies in some other jurisdictions, generally are used by the investment funds and insurance industries. The main benefit of a SAC is that the assets and liabilities of each segregated account in the company are exclusive to that respective account and do not affect the other accounts. As such, each account is insulated and protected from the occurrences in the other accounts.

Private Banking Services

With Equity’s full banking services clients have access to the broadest range of financial products and services from the leading independent boutique bank, trust and other financial services provider in The Bahamas. Our experienced private banking professionals give us the confidence and strength to deliver creative and responsive advice and solutions for the most complex client requirements. Our independence ensures that the integrity of our advice and solutions are clearly and solely focused on what is best for the clients we are proud to serve.

Equity’s banking services are designed to meet the diversified requirements of our global clients.

ipagoo Prepaid Debit Mastercard®

No account would be complete without a debit card to allow you to spend money whenever you need to. An ipagoo Prepaid Debit Mastercard® is even more versatile, the same card can be linked to any of the accounts you have with ipagoo. You can change the account for the card whenever you want. If you link the card to an account in the UK in GBP it will pay out from that account in GBP and if you decide to switch it to a French account in EUR it will pay out in EUR in an instant. Nothing could be simpler. This feature will save you money in currency exchange and also allows you to live with just one card, regardless of how many accounts you have.

Foundations

Foundations came into use in a number of Civil Law jurisdictions in Europe in the late 1920s, to provide confidential protection for assets in anticipation of the outbreak of the Second World War. They have since gained acceptance in many countries in Europe, Latin America and mostly Civil Code countries where trusts are less well-known, often misunderstood and not always acceptable.

In an effort to meet the requirements of an increasingly sophisticated financial services marketplace, The Bahamas passed The Foundations Act 2005, thus becoming the first premier Common Law jurisdiction to introduce Foundation legislation as part of an aggressive legislative agenda designed to strengthen the country’s International business and regulatory environment.

Trusts

The trust is a unique relationship which allows an individual or a legal entity (the Settlor) to transfer assets — which may be of almost any type — to a third party (the Trustee) to be administered for the benefit of persons chosen by the Settlor (the Beneficiaries) in accordance with the provisions of a document (the Trust Deed). The concept is based on the separation of legal ownership of the Trust assets (which rests with the Trustees) from the beneficial ownership (which rests with the Beneficiaries).

Trusts are extremely versatile and this accounts for their long-standing use in wealth management. Examples of trusts include, Asset Protection, Purpose Trusts, Pensions Trusts, Voting Trusts and Charitable Trusts.

Companies

A Bahamian International Business Company (IBC) is a flexible corporate vehicle which can be used for almost any commercial activity, ranging from acting as a holding company for investments, an international trading company, a private investment company, an insurance company for non-domestic business, in an agency arrangement, or it may form part of a wealth and estate planning structure when used in combination with a trust, foundation or other specialized corporate vehicles.

The International Business Companies Act (the Act) precludes an IBC from carrying on, inter-alia, banking, insurance or trust business. In addition an IBC cannot register in The Bahamas as a broker-dealer.