Rohan Barnett denies BCW connection - Departs FSC March 30

In early December, the name Rohan Barnett appeared on Companies Office documentation as a director of a new start-up securities company, BCW Holdings Limited, which will trade as BCW Capital if it gets the nod from the Financial Services Commission.

Barnett ceased being a director six weeks later, on January 17.

Reached last night by Wednesday Business, the outgoing executive director of the Financial Services Commission, whose resignation was announced by the finance ministry earlier in the day, said he has no connections to BCW and that his appearance on the company's documentation was an error.

Barnett said he was approached to join the company but turned the offer down. In the interim, documentation submitted to the Companies Office had listed him as a director, he said.

"I wasn't a director," Barnett said. "I was approached in December but declined."

He said "the record was subsequently corrected".

Legal experts said that for Barnett's name to appear as a director, he would have been required to complete and sign a 'Form 23' issued by the Companies Office.

Barnett's resignation from the FSC fuelled market speculation that he was about to join the new firm whose launch is set for about mid-year.

But the regulator said he has made no decision about his future and that he was weighing both local and international opportunities.

Last night, BCW Holdings chairman Aubyn Hill declined to speak to the relationship between BCW and Barnett in that first month of the company's founding - including why he was listed as a director - while insisting there is no current relationship.

No future

Asked if Barnett had any interest in BCW, Hill said: "As of today, no! He is not an investor, not an owner, not an employee."

However, Hill declined to speak to the relationship after Barnett departs the FSC, saying he could not "predict the future". Barnett said there would be none.

As a securities firm, BCW would need the imprimatur of the FSC in order to operate. Any connection to Barnett in his current role as executive director would be a conflict of interest. The FSC licenses and regulates securities dealers.

Hill told Wednesday Business that BCW would be announcing several equity investors in the company in a few weeks, likely before March 30.

Barnett departs the FSC on that date, three years after his December 2008 appointment as replacement for Brian Wynter.

Barnett's deputy Leon Anderson has been named interim replacement as head of the agency whose sector portfolio spans securities, insurance and private pensions.

The Ministry of Finance and the Public Service on Tuesday credited Barnett with expanding the commission's efforts to identify suspected Ponzi schemes, alert and educate the public about these scams, as well as refer matters to the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

It also stated that he expanded the FSC's efforts with respect to increasing the level of financial literacy and education in Jamaica.

Barnett leaves with outstanding business relating to the completion of pension reform.

Phillips was in Parliament when contacted for a comment beyond his wishing Barnett "well in all his future endeavours", as stated in the release.

Transition of leadership

Industry leaders, meantime, say they expect a smooth transition of leadership at the regulatory agency.

"I don't expect any disruption. The FSC has a capable body of individuals, good succession plan and heads of department," said Gary Peart, president of the Jamaica Securities Dealers Association and chief executive officer of Mayberry Investment Ltd.

"He had a team around him and so would expect that the work started by him would be continued," said Allan Lewis, president of the Pension Fund Association of Jamaica.

No official reason was given for Barnett's resignation but the release said Barnett had earlier indicated that he would be terminating his services at the FSC at an appropriate time to pursue other endeavours and activities in line with his personal objectives.

Current disclosures indicate that BCW Capital is owned substantially by Gerry Wight, who initially listed as sole owner of 400 ordinary shares in BCW Holdings. His wife Juliet Wight replaced Barnett as director on January 17.

On February 23, Wisynco and Jamaica Broilers announced they had taken equity stakes in the company, but did not disclose the amount of shares or value of the holdings. Wight said then that BCW was trying to raise capital of J$500 million.

Last night, Hill said an initial public offering on the Jamaica Stock Exchange remained one of the options, alongside the investors to be named later this month.

BCW is setting up offices on Knutsford Boulevard in New Kingston and is in the process of designing its products and services.

business@gleanerjm.com