The Bank of Nova Scotia, commonly known as Scotia Bank, was founded in Jamaica in 1889, noted Country Manager Robert Judd. "Scotia Bank is in 20 countries in the Caribbean and another 50 countries around the world. We are expanding in Central and Latin America and are currently the biggest international bank in the Caribbean islands."

Victor Henriquez, managing director of The Windward Islands Bank, Ltd., also believes his operation is one with stability. "We are affiliated with Maduro and Curiel's Bank, NV, which is the oldest bank in the Netherlands Antilles and the biggest bank in the NA and Aruba. We have 50 branches in Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire and St. Maarten, " he said.

Frances Bowman, managing director of Antilles Banking Corp., explained that his bank is part of Trinidad and Tobago-based RBTT Financial Holdings Ltd. RBTT is now the parent company of the St. Maarten branch as well as Caribbean Banking Corp. Ltd. and Grenada Bank of Commerce among several others throughout the Caribbean.

Pierrot Hurtado, general manager of the ABN-AMRO Bank, also is confident in his organization's experience. "We are an international bank that is established in 74 countries, so that has made it easier for us to do business here." Using its internal communications network, ABN-AMRO is able to better serve clients through use of the expertise of their entire system. This can make doing business a little bit easier, especially when one side of the island follows laws of the Netherlands Antilles, and the other is subject to French and European Union statutes.

The two different countries and one-island scenario can make banking a difficult process if locals don't follow the advice of their financial professionals. The different financial laws of the two separate governments are one reason that the same banks are not on both sides of the island.

Henriquez explains that banks on the Dutch side are regulated by the central bank of the Netherlands Antilles and indirectly by the Dutch central bank. French side banks follow the same laws as France for financial and banking services.

"Many people on the island have accounts in both a Dutch and a French bank - a question of fiscality," reported Eva Juraver, director of the Bank of the French Antilles. The two accounts make their operations on each side of the island much easier, because of the separate banking rules. "You can also have two firms that belong to the same shareholders, which are a mix of people from both sides of the island," she said.

Investors and businesses should not let the two separate systems worry them. Local banks have learned to deal with the laws and have even created special programs specifically for investors. "We are developing a loan program for American clients who want to buy homes in French St. Martin and St. Barth's," said Ms. Juraver. Local banks know that they have to be creative, especially since the biggest driver of the economy is the tourism industry with clients from all over the world.

Services of local banks vary, but Ms. Juraver's branch has about 60 percent of its business in personal accounts and the remainder with commercial clients.

"We are looking to expand into more commercial business," she said. Transactions in most banks can be done in three different currencies. Dutch banks work with French francs, Netherlands Antilles guilders and U.S. dollars, while their colleagues on the French side of the island work with euros, francs and U.S. dollars.

Kenneth Lei, representative for the Development Bank of the Netherlands Antilles, Inc. noted that his bank caters to the smaller business person. "As a development bank, we don't compete with commercial banks," he said. The Development Bank of the Netherlands Antilles has helped the following businesses: tour bus operators with foreign exchange problems, fishing boats in their deep-sea fishing operations, an office complex with financing and even a client who wanted to expand his ice cream business.

To curtail problems of volatility, Bowman has some simple advice. "If you don't manage your funds, you are in trouble. Fund management is the key." His bank invests its surplus funds in the United States to avoid losing U.S. dollars to overseas markets. Money managers have to constantly watch the markets, and with two different systems so close together this is part of a daily routine.

Although the French banks are not offering international financial services, a few of the Dutch banks are. Hurtado noted that ABN-AMRO is one of two banks on the island that offers onshore as well as offshore accounts, in addition to individual and corporate accounts. Henriquez noted that his bank is interested in the international sector. "The government is trying this idea now, but we need to modernize our telecommunications sector first. Once this development is done, our bank is interested in upgrading our product," he said.

Dutch St. Maarten Commissioner of Finance Sarah Wescott- Williams concurred with Henriquez. "The government lead is looking into the offshore sector. To make this work, one has to actively seek the business. We are looking into how we can use technology to branch out via the Internet," she said.

Development is not far away, as Henriquez's bank already has fiber-optic cables connecting their automatic teller machines. Fiber optics, combined with TELEM's (the state telephone company) international concession, will push innovations in communications technology along at a good pace.