Setting up a bank in Bermuda is no easy task. And the complexity of the process will become crystal clear when Government makes public its policies for the sector's expansion.

It already requires a minimum of $10 million to get the ball rolling as any potential bank would need that much in initial net assets before a licence could be granted under law.

But beyond capital requirements, the Government has said it would only give the green light to a venture that demonstrated a broad cross section of other characteristics from good corporate governance to an action plan for hiring or training Bermudians. Getting one's foot in the banking door has until recently been nigh on impossible, but that could change with Government saying it could open the doors to "modest expansion" within the financial services sector.

As for who will walk through that door, Government and the BMA have only indicated that they would be open to applications from both local and foreign ventures.

Financial Secretary Donald Scott said this week that no company names would be revealed until licensing approval had been granted.

It is known however that there has been interest and at least bank licence applications are under consideration by the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA). The BMA in its 2001 annual report stated: "The Authority has received a number of expressions of interest ... and has also received two formal applications."

Mr. Scott said: "There are factors that we have have to take into consideration if we do open up the sector.

"One of these is the question of balance in the labour market. It must be determined if there is a sufficient pool of skilled labour to fill the jobs or in the event that there is not, would there be training programmes for Bermudians, with an aptitude and willingness, to move into those fields," he said.

Government's economic advisor Dr. Andrew Brimmer added that Government would require any institution seeking a bank licence to meet both technical and socio-economic requirements.

Dr. Brimmer: "The Minister is setting out socio-economic goals. These are to be applied, not just put on a library shelf," he said. And Dr. Brimmer said that he had suggested to the licensing authority for banks, the BMA, that when it announced a licence had been issued that it the institution met technical requirements but was also consistent with Bermuda's national economic policy.