Cayman Islands Financial Services

In the context of the current international financial crisis the Cayman regulator, the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA), has decided to reassure the public over their retail banks.

It should be also noted that CIMA meetings with local banks have increased because of the international financial crisis.

According to the Authority, retail banks are subject to robust and strict oversight from the regulator. In recent years, banks in Cayman stayed quite conservative in lending practices, which has led to minimal losses while the banks remained liquid and well-capitalised.

CIMA stated that the regulatory environment in which retail banks operate is very strong and that confidence in the banking system is reasonable.

There are 7 retail banks in the Cayman Islands:
Cayman National Bank Ltd.,
Butterfield Bank (Cayman) Ltd.,
Scotiabank & Trust (Cayman) Ltd.,
FirstCaribbean International Bank (Cayman) Ltd.,
Royal Bank of Canada,
Fidelity Bank (Cayman) Ltd.,
and HSBC Bank (Cayman) Ltd.

The Cayman Leader of Government Business, Kurt Tibbetts has warned that the Cayman Islands is not likely to escape the fall-out from the financial crisis in the US, particularly because the majority of the world’s hedge funds have registered in the jurisdiction. Many the world’s hedge funds are heavily exposed to the debt instruments.

On October 9, Tibbetts said that notwithstanding the interventions of the United States’ government, the financial markets are still far from back to normal. He noted that the economy of the jurisdiction does not operate in isolation.

While the retail banking sector in Cayman is functioning close to normally, hedge funds and structured finance are the areas that are expected to suffer most. According to Tibbetts, there could be a big decline in the number of new fund and business formations the next year. Some experts are predicting that the number of hedge funds in the world could decrease by 20-30%, which will by all means affect Cayman’s business.

The Maritime Authority of the Cayman Islands (MACI) announced that year 2008 has witnessed a major global expansion effort on the part of its division – the Cayman Islands Shipping Registry (CISR).

CISR is the leading registrar of mega-yachts in the world. It is able to provide service for vessels of all types and sizes including private yachts, super-tankers, and submarines.

CISR was established in 1903. Currently, it has about 2 000 vessels on its Register.

According to MACI CEO Joel Walton, expansion during the past 6 months has been essential to strategically place itself for the convenience of its clients. Ti make an addition to its global network, CISR opened the 1st Mediterranean office in France. Also, it broadly covers Asia, where it is represented by Yoshinori Uno. Evelyn Soon now represents CISR in Singapore, and Martin Chu in Hong Kong.

Minister of Commerce for the Cayman Islands, Charles Clifford, has recently announced that a detailed environmental impact study will be carried out for a major redevelopment project in the George Town port. The company that will make the project will be chosen by the officials from Department of Environment (DoE).

DoE officials will choose the company from 3 names that were submitted by the investing company, Atlantic Star Limited.

Atlantic Star Ltd. signed a memorandum of understanding with the Cayman government in order to develop the cruise dock and cargo port separately. Minister of Commerce, Minister Clifford gave updates on the new cruise and cargo facility.

In the end of September, the Cayman Islands Financial Services Association (CIFSA) announced that it has added Meridian Fund Services and Greenlight Reinsurance Ltd to as its members.

2008 has been a particularly important year for CIFSA in terms of activity. It has been discussed that CIFSA announced its highest recorded membership, as of April 2008, 43 member organizations – 37 private sector members and 6 association members – were registered by it.

Several important CIFSA members have been important in the campaign as they were monthly sponsors. These are Cayman National Bank, KPMG, Deloitte, the Cayman Islands Society of Professional Accountants, DMS Management Ltd, Julius Baer, Butterfield Bank, Scotia Bank, Aon Cayman National and the Cayman Islands Insurance Association.