The FSA Seychelles meets with senior management staff of the Dubai FSA

Senior staff from the FSA Seychelles met with the senior management of the Dubai FSA (DFSA) at the Dubai International Financial Centre on Sunday 24^th October, 2021. The DFSA, which is the independent regulator of the Financial Services in Dubai was represented by Mrs. Sara Galadari, Head of International Relations, Mr. Justin Baldacchino, Managing Director Supervision, Mr. Peter Smith, Managing Director Head of Strategy, Policy and Risk and other senior staff.

The Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Damien Thesée headed the delegation, which comprised of the FSA’s Deputy CEO, management staff from the Policy, Research and Statistics, the AML-CFT, Capital Markets and Collective Investment Schemes, ITZ, and the Corporate Communications Unit. The team who is currently in Dubai to conduct a business conference on the 28^th October, in collaboration with the Seychelles Investment Board (SIB), is also attending several fact finding meetings with other regulatory counterparts, as part of an ongoing effort to foster and maintain the relationship between other regulatory bodies. 

The meeting with the DFSA provided an opportunity to leverage on the expertise between the two Authorities on common challenges such as AML-CFT, supervision, international best practices, and the lack of talent within the sector. Regulatory framework, risk based approach, request and exchange of information were also discussed. 

The teams will now explore the possibilities to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two Authorities particularly in regards to the exchange of information and possibility for FSA Seychelles to be provided with secondment opportunities so as to build on capacity building and development.

The team will continue with other courtesy visits to other regulatory authorities during the week.

 Financial Services Authority

The FSA hosted a virtual meeting on Tuesday morning to present and launch its new Strategic Plan 2021-2025. The invitation was extended to members of the industry and the Seychelles Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The CEO of the FSA, Mr. Damien Thesee welcomed the attendees and stated that the purpose of the new strategic plan is to realign the FSA’s vision, mission and strategic deliverables for the next five years with a clear focus on:

• Effective and efficient delivery of the FSA’s national and international mandate;
• Operating in strict compliance to international rules and standards;
• Earning the reputation of a reputable and exemplary NBFS jurisdictions;
• Acquisition of the desired capabilities and infrastructure; and
• Being a significant financial contributor to the Seychelles economy.

The presentation which was delivered by 3 staff members of the FSA, Mr. Eric Dsouza from the Policy, Research & Statistics Section, Ms. Arlette Hoareau from the Legal Unit and Ms. Amanda Rene from the Fiduciary Supervision Section. An overview of a SWOT analysis conducted on the Authority highlighting the major challenges being faced including FSA’s strategic risks assessment.

At the end of the presentation, participants were given the chance to give their comments and inputs on the new strategic plan and interact with the CEO. Any further comments are to be provided to the Director of Corporate Communications, Ms. Lissa Bristol on the following email address: lissa@fsaseychelles.sc. The FSA intends to conduct another session soon with the industry for those who could not attend.

Following the presentation of the strategic plan with the industry and other stakeholders, the plan will be updated and finalized before submission to the Government for approval in September.

Financial Services Authority

In line with the organisation’s strategic realignment to create a modern and well-structured organization, the FSA is pleased to announce the following appointments in its leadership team effective as from Monday 1^st August;

• Paul Robert – Director Policy, Research & Statistics
• Randolf Samson – Director, AML/CFT
• Garry Jupiter – Director, Insurance, Gambling & Pension
• Hazel Lafortune - Director, Fiduciary Supervision
• Taryn Auguste – Director, Legal
• Maryline Joseph – Director, Risk Management and Monitoring & Evaluation
• Lissa Bristol - Director, Corporate Communications
• Esther Boniface – Head of Corporate Affairs
• Vithya Naidoo – Manager Human Resources

The following posts remains unchanged;

• Leo Alexander – Director, Capital Markets, Collective Investment Schemes & Fintech
• Karl Herminie – Director, International Trade Zone & Hire Purchase
• Lisa Lautoy – Director, Registry
• Elizabeth Bodwell – Director, Finance
• Ammu Chetty – Internal Audit Manager
• Jean Claude Thelermont – Director Information System
• Pascal Marie – Director Facilities & Logistic

In carrying out its regulatory and supervisory function, it is imperative for the Authority to adopt new strategies to ensure the effective running of its internal operations.  It is with this principle in mind that the FSA remains committed in its quest to maintain a high level of service standard within the organisation. We will continue to fulfil our responsibility to safeguard the future of the financial services in Seychelles.

Financial Services Authority

The FSA is pleased to announce that new members has been appointed on the Capital Markets & Collective Investment Schemes Working Group Committee (“the Committee”). The committee was set up to further develop the capital markets and collective investment schemes industry in Seychelles and foster collaboration between the regulator and the industry.

The Committee’s main objectives among others, are to consider and assess the introduction of new products to the market, propose policy decisions with respect to product development and training and review and recommend changes to the current regulatory regime that governs the sector. The first meeting of the committee was held on the 22^nd July, 2021.

Chaired by the CEO of the FSA, Mr. Damien Thesee, the Committee is composed of FSA’s technical staff and the following 8 members from the industry:

• Bobby Brantley
• Charbel Raffoul
• Nico Ackermann
• Sudhanshu Agarwal
• Nicole Chang-Sam
• Michelle L. Brantley
• Tira Simeon
• Malika Jivan

The appointed members shall serve on the Committee for a period of 2 years and they shall endeavor to meet at least once every 3 months.

The Authority takes this opportunity to thank the members for accepting its invitation of appointment and extend a warm welcome to them. The Authority counts on all members’ active participation and commitment to assist the Committee to achieve its objectives.

This is a step forward and these initiatives will ensure that the Authority and the industry practitioners remains engaged in an effort to collectively grow this industry. This comes at a time, where the need for diversification of products are essential and evident. Other committees of similar nature will be set up in the coming months for the other products, whereby product development and issues affecting their businesses will be discussed and new strategies can be formed for the betterment of the industry as a whole.

Financial Services Authority

The FSA will be restructured to enable it to adapt with the on-going changes in the regulatory landscape and the envisioned long-term growth of the organisation, and the non-bank financial services sector as well. The re-organisation will aim to improve FSA’s operating efficiency, facilitate decision making and enable better communication both internally and externally.

The restructuring which consist of re-classifications and re-organisation of existing roles and also the creation of new roles and functions, forms part of the organisation’s strategic realignment to create a modern and well-structured organisation. This will result in a more effective arrangement of functions to allow it to attend more effectively to the Authority’s mandate.

The following changes to the organisation will become effective as of 1^st of August 2021.

• Converting the ‘Legal Unit’ and ‘Communications Unit’ into independent Units away from the Policy Unit. This will allow the two units to provide a more coherent support to the overall organisation.

• Restructuring of the Policy and Legal Section into the ‘Policy, Research and Statistics Section’ and catering for two responsibilities in the newly restructured section; a ‘Product Development Unit’ and a ‘Policy and Statistics Unit’. Emphasis is to be given to carrying out extensive research into development of new products that would be relevant to the Seychelles financial services for the industry to potentially adopt. Existing enabling laws are also under review to bring them at par to international standards to meet the respective industry’s current operating environment and enforce supervision.

• The AML/CFT as a stand-alone unit from the Fiduciary Supervision will ensure that the Authority’s supervisory purview can be better administered through sectorial risk assessments and enforcing mitigating measures to address the identified risks in the relevant sectors.

• Creation of a new Risk Management Unit to mitigate potential threats to the financial stability of the authority, operational efficiency, reputation so as to ensure compliance with local and international financial services legislations.

• The Insurance and Pension Supervision have been merged with the Gambling Supervision to enrich and enlarge the responsibilities of these functions, in order to also maximize the resources of the authority.

Following the closure of the China’s representation Office on 1^st July 2021 following a review of the office operations, the restructuring will be followed by the launch of the FSA’s Strategic Plan 2021 – 2025, in the coming months. The new structure is aimed to align the organization with the transformation and vision that is expected to be brought by the new management.

The FSA as the autonomous regulatory body responsible for non-bank financial services in the Seychelles remains committed to meeting strategic objectives while maintaining soundness and resilience of the financial services sector and adhering to international norms and standards.

The organisation structure can be found here.

Financial Services Authority