Ensuring market quality for participants and strategically engaging with its stakeholders are the keys to success for the Barbados Stock Exchange. With a focus on building public confidence in its marketplace, the Exchange pairs a right-sized regulatory framework with strong internal governance to position itself as CARICOM’s future capital market.

About the Barbados Stock Exchange

The Barbados Stock Exchange, commonly known as the BSE and formerly the Securities Exchange of Barbados, was re-incorporated on August 2, 2001 in accordance with the Securities Act Cap 318A 2001-13, which also enabled the establishment of the Barbados Securities Commission which on April 1st, 2011 was subsumed by the Financial Services Commission (FSC). The FSC is responsible for regulation of the Insurance sub-sector, Co-operative and Non-Banking Financial sectors and the entire Barbados Capital Market, including Self-Regulatory Organization and public companies whether listed or not.

The original trading facility, known as the Securities Exchange of Barbados, was established in 1987 under the Securities Exchange Act, Cap 318A, of 1982. The original Act of 1982 was then repealed and replaced by the Securities Act 2001-13.  The BSE remained a privately owned (by its Members), non-profit organization until December 22, 2015 when it became a shareholder-owned, for-profit organization after receiving the requisite approvals from its then Members, now new Shareholders, and by Order of the Supreme Court of Barbados approving the Scheme of Arrangement in accordance with section 224 (4) of the Companies Act thereby facilitating the demutualization of the BSE.

The strategic direction of the BSE is coordinated by a Board of Directors, through the Managing Director, which establishes By-Laws and Rules to regulate the role of the Exchange, licensed under the Securities Act, CAP 318A.

The Barbados Stock Exchange and its wholly owned subsidiary, the Barbados Central Securities Depository (BCSDI) are designated as Self Regulatory Organizations (SROs) under the Securities Act and are regulated by the Financial Services Commission.

The Role of the Financial Services Commission

The Financial Services Commission (FSC) is an integrated regulatory body, established on April 1, 2011 by virtue of the Financial Services Commission Act (2010). The FSC’s main functions include those previously discharged by the former Securities Commission, Supervisor of Insurance and Pensions, and the credit unions related functions of the Co-operatives Department.

It is responsible for supervising and regulating non-bank financial institutions in Barbados, licensed or registered under the following Acts of Parliament:

Securities and Funds Market Regulation

As it relates to the securities and funds markets, the FSC supervises and regulates the following types of entities:

  • Self-Regulatory Organizations (SROs) including the Barbados Stock Exchange Inc. and the Barbados Central Securities Depository Inc.
  • Market actors, specifically securities companies, brokers, investment advisers, dealers in securities, underwriters of securities, traders in securities
  • Issuers
  • Mutual funds
  • Mutual fund administrators/managers

The FSC is empowered, among other things, to:

  • Register SROs and market actors
  • Register issuances of securities
  • License mutual funds and mutual fund administrators/managers
  • Conduct examinations
  • Regulate, approve and review take-overs, amalgamations and all forms of business combinations
  • Approve the contents of prospectuses, offering circulars and any form of solicitation, advertisements or announcements
  • Exercise enforcement action in various forms including suspension and revocation of registration or licenses, issuance of cease trade orders and issuance of directives