OECD approves of Gibraltar's fiscal policy

• Madrid Stock Exchanges warns of 'financial beach huts'
• Minister of the Economy says a 'major step' has been taken on this 'vital subject

GIBRALTAR -- The Rock was busy congratulating itself recently about the approval given by the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) for its new fiscal policies contained in a multilateral agreement on the automatic exchange of information about financial accounts held there. As might be expected, these policies are aimed at smoothing the image of Gibraltar as an offshore tax haven (or 'financial paradise', as the Spanish media call it) that is very difficult to shake off. While Chief Minister Fabian Picardo was slapping backs in Berlin, the Madrid Stock Exchange (CNMV in its Spanish acronym) was warning about the activities being carried out by what the media called a 'financial beach hut' (chiringuito has other connotations, too) operating on Gibraltar: Nova Nordic Limited, which is supposedly not permitted to offer any services on the Rock.

The CNMV specifies that the publication (of the approval) 'does not imply any change of Spain's position on the British territory of Gibraltar nor on the character of its authorities. The Stock Exchange authorities have also found similar financial entities in  Bulgaria (Traderxp LTD), Cyprus (Livefx Trader Cysec), France (CAC Invest), Norway (Granada Capital y Norvell Associates)  and the UK (Asian Direct Capital Management, Burton Capital Partners, Crown Capital Management y Houlihan Lokey). Among representatives of another 49 countries and territories (they don't call them colonies any more) and in his capacity as Gibraltar's Minister of Finance, Picardo signed the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement on Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information (MCAA) at the German Federal Ministry of Finance in Berlin. He was accompanied by Albert Isola, Minister for Financial Services.