{"id":20682,"date":"2018-08-10T12:00:40","date_gmt":"2018-08-10T16:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/?p=20682"},"modified":"2020-09-18T15:14:54","modified_gmt":"2020-09-18T20:14:54","slug":"international-bank-license-in-st-lucia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/blog\/international-bank-license-in-st-lucia\/","title":{"rendered":"International Bank License in St. Lucia"},"content":{"rendered":"

International Bank License in St. Lucia<\/strong><\/h2>\n

One of the best jurisdictions for an international bank license is St. Lucia. In this post I\u2019ll look at why you should consider forming an international bank in St. Lucia. <\/span><\/p>\n

Let me start by pointing out that the top three offshore bank license jurisdictions in 2018 are St. Lucia, Dominica, and <\/span>Puerto Rico<\/span>. St. Lucia, and Dominica issue one or two license per year and Puerto Rico about 25. Because Puerto Rico is a US territory, those who don\u2019t want to be to close to the United States should focus on Dominica and St. Lucia. <\/span><\/p>\n

The country of <\/span>St. Lucia offers two types of international banking license<\/span>: the Class A License and the Class B License. To obtain both licenses you have to submit the same application, but it would be wise to review them to see which one is most convenient for you. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Class A License is a basic banking license that permits the applicant to perform commercial banking activities and transactions with any business and individuals. The Class A License does have some restrictions, but it is pretty straightforward. This is a classic international bank license allowing you to do business with any person or company outside of St. Lucia. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Class B License is a more complicated than the Class A. In a Class B banking license you need to show who you are doing business with to the FSRA. We won\u2019t get into details on the Class B as they are extremely rare and St.Lucia is not giving them out at the moment. This one is commonly referred to as a captive bank license. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Class A banking License has a minimum capital requirement of $1,000,000. This minimum capital requirement is mandated by the International Banks Act so it cannot be waived and it is absolutely necessary for the banking license to be given. However, we suggest you will need $2.5 to $7 million in capital to attract quality correspondent banking partners. <\/span><\/p>\n

Besides the minimum capital requirement, you must maintain a fixed deposit of $100,000 always while the bank is operating. This is usually in the form of a CD at a local bank. <\/span><\/p>\n

The International Banks Act, which is the legal framework that governs the banking industry in St. Lucia states in detail how the proprietor should handle the assets that are linked to the international bank such as:<\/span><\/p>\n