get approval this week.

The Bank of Bermuda Act 1998 could receive support from both the Government and the Opposition after the House of Assembly rejected the Report of the Joint Select Committee on Private Bills -- which recommended the bill not be passed -- on Friday night.

The bill, which aims to have the 60/40 ownership rules waived so the bank can list its shares on a US stock exchange, is to come before the House of Assembly for a second reading on Friday.

Last night senior Progressive Labour Party MPs refused to be drawn on whether the party would support the motion but said they were broadly in support of the plan, although they still had some reservations.

Party Whip Walter Lister said: "We are in favour of the legislation and think it will help the Country in the long run.'' But he also stated that the PLP was concerned that there was not enough protection in place for any bank from a takeover, either friendly or hostile, by a foreign company.

"We feel very strongly that the regulations controlling overseas banks are not in place,'' he said. "Until that happens we do not feel that we should go forward with it.'' Deputy Leader and Shadow Finance Minister Eugene Cox said the PLP would do whatever was in the best interests of Bermuda.

He added that it would look at each case with respect to the 60/40 ownership rules -- which requires that 60 percent of the shares are Bermudian owned -- on its own merits.

The motion was debated for the first time on Friday, when PLP Leader Jennifer Smith said she fully supported what the bank was trying to do but was concerned at the regulations that the Bermuda Monetary Authority had in place to protect the bank.

But last night Finance Minister Grant Gibbons said there were regulations built in to the private bill, restrictions imposed by the BMA and checks and balances put into place by the bank itself.

In particular, there were several checks to stop anyone building up a share base of more than ten percent, and there were also tough restrictions to deal with anyone who managed to acquire such a holding.

The Minister said the BMA had been consulted during the preparation of the bill and its amendments were incorporated into the bill, he said.

In addition, he said, there had been fears from the bank in the past that it could already be exposed to someone building up to 20 percent of shares, within the 60/40 rule.

He said the progress of the bill was important to allow the Bank of Bermuda to compete on an equal footing in international financial markets and gain credibility in the process.