IFC Review 2025

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Editor's Note:

Almost halfway into 2025, the international finance industry is navigating a complex backdrop of fast-evolving geopolitical factors. Protectionist policies have intensified trade conflicts worldwide, threatening to create a proliferation of trade barriers not seen for decades. The resulting uncertainty poses ever more challenges for investors and their wealth managers, which IFCs are singularly equipped to tackle.

Navigating these geopolitical dynamics requires strategies that focus on diversification, risk assessment, and compliance with changing international regulations. To quote Elise Donovan, CEO of BVI Finance: “For international finance centres, the new geopolitical landscape presents both peril and promise.”

Staying informed and adaptable is more crucial than ever, which is why IFC Review remains a key publication in the industry.

The traditional model of globalisation is shapeshifting into a landscape of stronger regional alliances, requiring the recalibration of strategies to align with emerging regional dynamics and market volatility. Concerns over national security and economic sovereignty have resulted in stricter regulations and heightened due diligence requirements, impacting cross- border investment flows and requiring the operations of international finance centres to
continually evolve. In this issue, Geoff Cook shares his thoughts on the ‘fracturing of globalisation’ and the shifting paradigm for IFCs, while Pragmatix tackle the arrival of the ‘bloc economy’.

Digital currencies, including crypto and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), continue transforming the financial industry. While offering new investment opportunities, they also generate regulatory challenges and cybersecurity risks. Just as IFCs continue to implement solutions to the new paradigm, investors and their wealth managers must stay informed about technological advancements and implement robust security measures. Brian Garst from the Center For Freedom And Prosperity expounds on a new approach to digital assets.

The global wealth management industry continues to face constant evolution driven by economic trends, regulatory changes, technological advancements, and shifting client expectations. Andrew P Morriss and Charlotte Ku offer a fresh and compelling perspective on creative collaboration as a system for successful IFCs.

Our jurisdictional updates range from enhanced tax regimes in Hong Kong by Gavin Cumming, and macroprudential regulation of funds in the Republic of Ireland by Conor Durkin, to beneficial ownership registers in New Zealand by John Hart, and Switzerland’s arrival at ‘the AI crossroads’ by Dr Reto Luthiger and Andrea Trost.

In the Caribbean, the Cayman Islands’ funds sector reached an important milestone during 2024, and Barbados introduced comprehensive changes to taxation, while The Bahamas continues to strengthen its reputation ‘as a leading hub for digital asset innovation’, proving that private/public collaboration is a successful strategy for IFCs.

As the global financial landscape undergoes profound transformation, international finance centres stand at the forefront of both challenge and opportunity. This issue of IFC Review offers critical insights into the forces reshaping our industry—from geopolitical tensions and regional realignments to technological disruption and regulatory innovation.

Dee Lundy-Charles

Copy Editor