Antitrust legislation suggested in Cayman
On May 9, 2007, during his contribution to the Budget debate, Osbourne Bodden, Bodden Town MLA, suggested that the country should enact antitrust laws (also called competition laws) in order to help curtail the high cost of living. He said that bank interest rates and fuel costs were 2 of the 4 major culprits that had caused the high cost of living in Cayman.
According to him, the government should contact the banks in order to encourage them to lower their mortgage rates. However, Bodden did not hold up much hope that would work. He suggested that for rates to come in lower it is probably needed to pass some antitrust legislation in order to avoid the collusion between the banks and fuel companies.
It should be noted that most countries in the Western world have antitrust laws or competition laws. As to Cayman Islands, although the Information and Communications Technology Authority Law has some provisions designed to prevent anti-competitive practices, there are not specific antitrust laws to govern commerce. This situation with the banks seems wrong to Bodden, that is why considering antitrust legislation is a serious issue to be put forward.
Bodden said that consultants have recently completed a report on the situation with the fuel companies, but its findings haven’t been made public yet. However, Kurt Tibbetts, Leader of Government Business, in his Budget policy statement on April 27 said that the findings of the report require that the government meets with the bulk fuel distributors.
Bodden also was taking on insurance rates and electricity prices as the other 2 major culprits of the high cost of living in Cayman.