FIT AND PROPER CRITERIA FOR PRIMARY DEALERS

NOTIFICATION TO PRIMARY DEALERS 

1. As is the case with persons who are licensed by Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) or who are licensed pursuant to the recommendation of the Bank, Primary Dealers must also meet the Bank’s ‘fit and proper’ standards prior to obtaining Primary Dealership approval or in order to retain Primary Dealership designation.
2. For the purposes of this requirement ‘principals’ of Primary Dealers and of applicants for Primary Dealership status, shall include the directors, and shareholders holding or exercising 10% or more of the company’s shares, whether such rights are held solely by an individual or jointly with another person or other persons managing those operations on the company’s behalf.
3. For the purpose of this requirement ‘manager’ shall include any person who has the authority to direct the operations of the company whether such person managing is formally employed in that capacity or not.
4. The application of the ‘fit and proper’ criteria shall be an ongoing process and shall be in effect throughout the person/s affiliation with the designated Primary Dealer. In accordance with this policy, ‘fit and proper’ reassessments will be conducted every seven (7) years on the persons who have already been assessed.
5. Approvals shall, therefore, not be granted to any company unless the principals are deemed to be ‘fit and proper’ for that purpose. Similarly, BOJ shall not renew the Primary Dealership of any company unless its principals and managers thereof meet the ‘fit and proper’ criteria specified herein. To meet the ‘fit and proper’ criteria, the above principals and managers must be persons who:
   1. have not provided any false or misleading information to BOJ on the Personal Questionnaire for Assessment of Primary Dealers Under the ‘Fit and Proper’ Criteria (Fit and Proper Questionnaire’) or in any related document,
   2. have declared all information as required by the ‘Fit and Proper’ Questionnaire,
   3. have not been convicted of any crime involving dishonesty,
   4. are confirmed by the Police, as having satisfactory records,
   5. are confirmed as having satisfactory clearance from the Financial Investigations Division (FID) of the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service. The process of obtaining the relevant clearance involves the payment of a fee.
   6. are not persons barred from holding positions as shareholders, directors or managers of banks, merchant banks or any other entity pursuant to the provisions of the Banking Services Acts or other statutory enactment. Pursuant to section 38 (1) of the Banking Services Act.¹
   7. in the opinion of BOJ are persons of sound probity, and are able to exercise the required level of competence, diligence, and sound judgement in fulfilling their responsibilities as Primary Dealers; and who do not constitute a threat to good order in the Financial Markets and Payment Systems; and for the purposes of this paragraph BOJ may have regard to any evidence that these persons have: –
      1. engaged in previous business or financial practices which appear to BOJ to be deceitful or oppressive or otherwise improper or indicative of poor financial management skills;
      2. contravened any provision of any enactment designed for the protection of the public against financial loss due to dishonesty, incompetence or malpractice by persons concerned in the provision of banking, insurance, investment or other financial services, or in the management of companies, whether in Jamaica or elsewhere.
6. Applicants shall submit the following upon making an application for ‘fit and proper’ approval:
   1. A completed ‘Fit and Proper’ Questionnaire and a current résumé. The questionnaire is available at: Fit and Proper Questionnaire for Primary Dealers
   2. Consent Form. (Available on the bank’s website at Consent Form for Operators.pdf)
7. A current Police Clearance Report (submitted to the Bank within 6 months of being issued) or original receipt evidencing payment for a Police Clearance Report. The Police authorities shall be directed to forward the certificates for all principals and managers directly to BOJ.
8. Confirmation of payment of the relevant fee for obtaining FID report, where applicable.
9. A person who has resided or worked in jurisdictions outside of Jamaica for a period exceeding six months (since age 18), as at the date of application, must also submit a Police Clearance Report from each relevant jurisdiction. Each person must make direct contact with the appropriate law enforcement authority with respect to conducting the necessary criminal records check. Where possible, the overseas authority should be requested to submit their report directly to BOJ for the attention of the Head of Department, Market Operations and Analysis Department, Bank of Jamaica, Nethersole Place, Kingston.
10. Documentary evidence of request for overseas Police Certificate, for relevant persons, must be submitted to The Market Operations and Analysis Department within one (1) month of the date of the request for such information.
11. The failure or refusal by an individual or organization to take the steps required to have clearance reports prepared as requested by BOJ within one (1) month of the date of the request for such information shall constitute grounds for the termination of the ‘fit and proper’ assessment of the affected individual. BOJ also reserves the right to discontinue or terminate the fit and proper assessment process if any clearance report that has been requested is not received within four (4) months of the date of the request for such information.
12. Where shareholders are unable to undergo the ‘fit and proper’ process due to ill- health, the process in relation to that shareholder will be deferred until the shareholder advises or informs BOJ of their return to good health and BOJ is satisfied that the shareholder is fit to undergo the fit and proper process subject to submission of the following:
    1. Confirmation from a certified Medical Doctor that the relevant shareholder is medically unfit to be subject to the procedure, and
    2. A certified copy of Power of Attorney issued by the medically unfit shareholder
    In such cases, the person who has been appointed Power of Attorney must satisfy BOJ’s ‘Fit and Proper’ criteria.
13. Where a Primary Dealer proposes to effect changes to its principals or management the Company shall advise BOJ 7 days prior to effecting such proposed change, if possible. In the event that such prior notice is not possible, BOJ must be advised of the change within 7 days of the date when the change took effect, in order that the fitness and propriety of proposed individuals may be assessed. In all cases, the Questionnaire relating to each individual must be submitted to BOJ by the Company at the same time that BOJ is notified of the change. Any change effected by the Primary Dealer to its principals or management is conditional on the new principal/(s) or manager/(s) meeting the aforementioned ‘fit and proper’ criteria herein for Primary Dealers.
14. A Primary Dealer which has notice of any fact or circumstance, which will reasonably affect the standing as ‘fit and proper’ of any of its principals or managers, shall be obliged to immediately advise BOJ within 7 days of being made aware of such fact or circumstance. The failure to so advise BOJ shall constitute grounds for revocation of the Primary Dealership designation.
15. It should not be assumed that information is known to BOJ merely because it is in the public domain or has previously been disclosed to BOJ or another regulatory body or law enforcement agent. In this regard, an applicant who, subsequent to the submission of his Personal Questionnaire, has notice of any fact or circumstance which will reasonably affect his assessment under this Notice shall be obliged to immediately advise BOJ within 7 days of being made aware of such fact or circumstance.
16. A determination by BOJ at any time, including during the term of an Approval, that any principal or manager of a Primary Dealer has ceased to meet the ‘fit and proper’ criteria outlined herein shall constitute grounds for revocation of the Primary Dealer
17. Upon a Primary Dealer designation becoming due for renewal, if there are no changes in the circumstances of the principals or management or any other circumstances that would impact a standing of ‘fit and proper’, the Primary Dealer shall submit to BOJ a completed Declaration in a form to be determined by BOJ, in support of the Primary Dealer’s application for renewal.
18. The provision of any false or misleading information to BOJ in support of an application for an Approval, or its renewal, shall also constitute grounds for refusing the application or discontinuing the processing of an application or for revocation of a Primary Dealership designation.
19. A determination by BOJ that an applicant or Primary Dealer does not meet the ‘fit and proper’ criteria herein contained shall be final and conclusive. A determination that the fit and proper criteria has not been met may be appealed by the applicant to the Supervisor or to the Supervisory Committee in circumstances arising under section 5(f). In the case of individuals who have not satisfied the fit and proper criteria in categories other than that specified in section 5(f), the determination may be appealed by the applicant to the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service.
20. BOJ reserves the right to require such further and other information from any applicant or Primary Dealer as it deems fit, for the purpose of making its determination of the fitness and propriety of a Principal or manager.
21. BOJ shall have liberty to extend the period for doing any act under this