The Barbados Stock Exchange

The Barbados Stock Exchange (BSE) was established in 1987 by the Parliament of Barbados as a statutory body under the Securities Exchange Act of 1982. According to its General Manager, Marlon Yarde, up until that time, “a lot of trading of securities was done in attorneys’ offices, and it was believed that we had reached a stage in our development where we needed our own stock exchange to create the opportunity for capital formation for companies that were looking for financing in the jurisdiction.” For the first several years of its existence, the BSE, which was known at the time as the Securities Exchange of Barbados, functioned as a government-sponsored entity. In 2001, it re-incorporated as a not-for-profit organi- zation and the government established the Barbados Securities Commission, now the Financial Services Commission, which took on the role of regulating the country’s capital markets. The Barbados Stock Exchange barbados stock exchange Facilitatingwealth creation AT A GLANCE | The barbados stock exchange WHAT: A shareholder-owned company for the trading of stocks and securities WHERE: Bridgetown, Barbados WEBSITE: www.bse.com.bb