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“The existence of an electronic exchange makes [the centre] more powerful,” says Bucher. “It’s very important as clearing and settlement is difficult to do in Latin America” |
Bucher, a Dominican national who worked in Switzerland for many years, wants to set up a regional financial centre in his homeland. The centre, called the Independent Financial Centre of the Americas (Ifca), will allow commercial and private banking, asset management as well as investment banking. It will include a new electronic exchange, the Latin American International Financial Exchange, which will for the first time enable financial instruments to be cleared and settled through one hub in the region.
“The existence of an electronic exchange makes [the centre] more powerful,” says Bucher. “It’s very important as clearing and settlement is difficult to do in Latin America.”
Although at first glance the DR might not seem the most obvious location to become Latin America’s heartbeat, Bucher is serious and determined. He has already spent four years and, together with other private backers, $30 million researching and preparing the groundwork for the centre. This included analysing the strengths and weaknesses of other regional financial centres, such as the one in Dubai, which it will most closely resemble.