Cayman Regulator Reflects on 2008. Part 1
The Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) has recently shared its reflections on a difficult year 2008. According to CIMA, the year was difficult for the jurisdiction’s finance industry that goes on suffering from with the fall-out from the US sub-prime crisis and that is also exposed to Bernard Madoff’s alleged USD 50 billion hedge fund fraud.
CIMA’s Managing Director, Cindy Scotland recently spoke at industry symposium. Despite the difficulties of the past year, she urged optimism. She warned that the pressure on the Cayman Islands and other offshore centres should be expected to increase. However, she believes that with a bit of innovation, Cayman can get even a stronger position than before the global crisis.
“The opportunity for Cayman is to use this time wisely (bearing in mind that time is not on our side) and position ourselves so that when the dust settles, this jurisdiction will remain a key player in the global financial markets but with new products and services,” Scotland observed. She continued:
Scotland also noted that it is time to diversify and develop relationships with other regions and said that CIMA intends to continue regular visits with other foreign regulators. In 2009, visits to China, Hong Kong and Singapore are planned.