freedom to pass on information to the Bermuda Monetary Authority that they acquire during an audit of an institution.

The Bill, entitled The Bermuda Monetary Authority Amendment Bill 1993, will "remove any restraint on an auditor such as that imposed by a duty of confidence owed to a client''.

Mr. Tom Conyers, who was a member of the institute of Chartered Accountants of Bermuda sub-committee which helped formulate the amendment, said it protects accountants from legal action arising from a possible conflict of interest.

"We wanted to be sure that accountants did not find that they were breaching one duty to the shareholders by complying with another duty to report to the BMA,'' said Mr. Conyers, who is a partner in Price Waterhouse.

The amendment has been introduced following an initiative from the BMA, he said.