The company’s vice president is impressed by the regulatory framework of Bermuda, and hoped to work with the government to help promote the growth and expansion of the digital asset and FinTech industry.
Signature Bank, a banking entity based in New York, will soon offer full banking services to financial technology firms in Bermuda, a British island located in the Caribbean.
In a press release, the Bermuda government announced that Signature would offer US banking services to licensed fintech firms, including 66 startups already incorporated in the country.
Signature Bank and Bermuda
A spokesperson for Signature Bank confirmed that it would provide these services.
Companies can request services immediately, the government of Bermuda announced. Prime Minister David Burt commented that the island’s government has been working to:
Promote Bermuda as the destination of choice for FinTech companies looking for a place to live.
Where others fear to tread
Traditionally, banks have been “reluctant” to provide banking services to companies that deal with digital assets.
Burt explained that there are concerns about the violation of international regulations. He continued saying:
Signature Bank’s willingness to consider licensed companies in Bermuda for banking services is a significant vote of confidence and support for Bermuda’s efforts to create a high-level, leading regulatory regime for FinTech’s businesses.
In turn, Signature Bank vice president John Tamberlane commented that the company was “impressed” by Bermuda’s regulatory framework.
Likewise, Tamberlane said he hoped to work “with the Government of Bermuda to help promote the growth and expansion of FinTech’s digital asset and technology industry in that country.”
Separately, the president and CEO of the bank, Joseph DePaolo, highlighted the work of his organization with Signet, its internal payment system of Blockchain. He claimed:
Signature Bank is one of the few banks in the US that will provide deposit accounts and corporate debit cards to new cryptocurrency companies, but we are also seeing that non-cryptographic companies are signing up.