In a release issued Friday afternoon, the ECSRC confirmed that it had suspended the broker dealer license, number SL-PL-0009-11, of Financial Investment & Consultancy Services (FICS) Ltd, effective 10 July 2012.
The Regulatory Commission explained that “Such suspension is pursuant to Section 66 (3) (a) of the Securities Act No. 21 of 2001 of the laws of Saint Lucia (the Act) as the company has ceased to meet the requirement for licensing in accordance with Section 48 (3) (b) of the Act.”
This means that FICS cannot carry on the business of a licensed broker dealer in the Eastern Caribbean Securities Market until this requirement is satisfied.
No further details were however provided.
The Financial Investment and consultancy Services (FICS) was incorporated in November 1991 and opened its doors to the public on February 24th 1992. It is a diversified finance company that emphasizes the provision of credit and financial services to individuals and corporations. The company is a non-bank financial entity that was granted license to accept deposits from St. Lucian citizens. Its operations have been governed by the banking Act 2006 and the regulations and guidelines of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank.
It was established by Mr & Mrs. George Theophilus in 1992 with $140,000.00, but it has since grown and said to now has an asset base of over $100 million and has operated at a profit for the past 16 years.
The Eastern Caribbean Securities Regulatory Commission (ECSRC) is the regulatory body for the Eastern Caribbean Securities Market (ECSM), which came into being on 19 October 2001 with the appointment of a Chairman, a Deputy Chairman and three other Commissioners.
The ECSM facilitates the dealing in securities in eight English speaking territories in the Eastern Caribbean, namely, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, and St Vincent and The Grenadines. The Eastern Caribbean Securities Regulatory Commission Agreement, was signed by seven member territories on 24 November 2000, and acceded to by Anguilla on 26 October 2001.
The Agreement gained the force of law with the passage of the Eastern Caribbean Securities Act, 2001. The effective date of the Act was 8 October 2001, with the exception of Anguilla.