The Financial Services Commission (FSC) is an independent self-financing statutory body established in Belize to regulate & supervise non-bank financial services, provided by entities licensed or registered under the Financial Services Commission Act, Cap. 272, the Securities Industry Act, 2021 and the Belize Companies Act, 2022. The FSC is tasked with ensuring that Belize remains a thriving, competitive, safe and sound jurisdiction from which firms and individuals of substance and good reputation can conduct good business. As such, its mandate and core functions include:

• Promoting and developing Belize as a centre for financial services;
• Protecting and enhancing the reputation of Belize as a financial centre;
• Providing appropriate supervision and regulation of the conduct of financial services;
• Formulating policies and providing advice and assistance to the government on the regulation of such services;
• Collecting, storing and disseminating reliable and timely information to interested parties on changes and new trends in services being offered;
• Facilitating capital formation and economic growth;
• Protecting investors from unfair, improper, or fraudulent practices;
• Fostering development of fair and efficient capital markets and confidence in the capital markets in or from within Belize;
• Reducing systemic risk;
• Promoting public understanding of the financial system, including awareness of the benefits and risks of different kinds of investment or other financial activities;
• Cooperating and exchanging information with domestic and foreign authorities; and,
• Promoting company formation and business registration.

As a part of Belize’s national system for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and the financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (ML/TF/PF), the FSC carries out two roles which are (1) supervising its licensees to ensure that they are properly implementing measures to prevent ML/TF/PF, and (2) cooperating, coordinating and exchanging of information with domestic and international authorities to combat ML/TF/PF.

In ensuring that licensees comply with measures to prevent ML/TF/PF, the FSC undertakes risk-based supervision which involves the following activities:

• Licensing of entities – this provides knowledge of entities and prevents criminals and their associates from holding, or being the beneficial owner of, a significant or controlling interest, or holding a management function in a licensed entity;
• Monitoring and assessing compliance – conducting off-site (including desk based reviews) surveillance or on-site assessments/examinations to determine level of compliance with obligations and ensure remediation of deficiencies identified;
• Awareness or guidance activities – licensees are made aware of their compliance obligations and provided with operational advice on how to comply; and
• Enforcement actions – incremental sanctioning measures such as fines, criminal remedies or de-licensing are taken in instances of serious non-compliance or repeated offences.

In undertaking domestic and international cooperation, on the domestic front, and as a member of NAMLC, the FSC cooperates and where necessary coordinates and exchange information domestically with other members, to develop and implement policies and activities to combat ML/TF/PF. On the international level, the FSC has wide authority and uses it to cooperate, exchange information, and provide assistance to international law enforcement and external supervisory authority partners.