RAROTONGA (Pacnews) — There are concerns in the Cook Islands that compliance with regulations demanded by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development will weaken the country’s offshore banking industry.
Speaking to the New Zealand Herald newspaper, Commissioner of Offshore Financial Services Mathilda Urhle warned that compliance with OECD regulations risks depleting foreign exchange earnings from six trustee companies licensed to operate through Cook Islands’ offshore banking facility.
In a letter to the OECD, Prime Minister Robert Woonton had said the country was willing to enter into agreements for “tax information exchange” with OECD member states in order to “achieve effective exchange of information on a phased basis.”
“It’s something that the government is prepared to take a hit on we don’t want any business that does not comply with the regulatory framework that the Cook Islands is trying to improve,” Urhle told the Herald.
