The BVI Financial Services Commission (FSC) intends to continue strengthening its supervisory initiatives in 2026. Photo: FSC

Chief Executive Officer of the BVI Financial Services Commission, Mr Kenneth B. Barker gratitude to financial services industry participants and stakeholders for their ongoing efforts to comply with the FSC's regulatory and supervisory frameworks. Photo: FSC

The BVI Financial Services Commission’s Newsletter for Quarter 4 was published on the FSC’s website on December 23, 2025. Photo: FSC

This is according to Chief Executive Officer of the FSC, Mr Kenneth B. Barker, in the FSC’s Newsletter for Quarter 4, and will be done by improving the technological infrastructure that supports regulatory efforts to help the FSC become more agile in its attempts to keep pace with the rapidly changing landscape of regulatory supervision, particularly in the fintech space.

The newsletter was published on the FSC’s website on December 23, 2025. 

Housing the Economic Substance ecosystem

“Our teams are working feverishly to ensure systems development for the Commission to house the Economic Substance ecosystem,” Mr Barker added. 

Virgin Islands (VI) companies and partnerships conducting "relevant activities" in the VI are required to file an Economic Substance Declaration. 

“Like Beneficial Ownership, the Economic Substance regime will also benefit from digital integration in VIRGIN; this is expected to go live in early January 2026. We expect to address this adaptation in greater detail during our anticipated first quarter 2026 Meet the Regulator Forums,” he explained. 

Mr Barker added that they understand the time ahead may be “both exciting and challenging” due to the multitude of tasks involved in keeping up with the evolving local and international regulatory expectations. 

“Nevertheless, the Commission will continue to work collaboratively with industry stakeholders to ensure that they receive sufficient clarity in expectations, which permits them to meet our requirements as well as their client needs.”

Several 2025 Strategic Work Plan objectives tackled

Reflecting on 2025, Mr Barker said the FSC successfully targeted several objectives outlined in the 2025 Strategic Work Plan.

Some of these objectives included substantially implementing the risk-based supervision framework; completing the implementation of the Beneficial Ownership (BO) regime in the VIRGIN system; improving the supervisory regime; partnering with the Robert Mathavious Institute (RMI) for financial services at HLSCC, to facilitate free AML/CFT/CPF masterclasses, and publishing several guidance documents related to AML to enhance clarity of expectations, consistency in compliance, and general efficiency and effectiveness, among others. 

“I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to financial services industry participants and stakeholders for their ongoing efforts to comply with our regulatory and supervisory frameworks and uphold the BVI as a leading and reputable international finance centre,” he added.