CIMA Implements Information Exchange Agreement With Washington State

by Glen Shapiro, LawAndTax-News.com, New York

07 March 2008

The Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) has expanded its network of agreements with overseas regulators by concluding formal information exchange agreements with the Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC), Washington State, US, which will facilitate cross border financial services supervision.

The agreement takes the form of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the sharing of information between CIMA and the OIC, which regulates insurance business in and from Washington State. The OIC is the primary regulator of all insurance entities domiciled in that state.

The MoU came into effect earlier this year, but was only recently announced by CIMA. It outlines the scope and procedures for sharing both confidential and public information each regulator may need from the other jurisdiction in order to carry out its supervisory responsibilities.

CIMA and the OIC have an active working relationship and have cooperated on information sharing since 2005. By virtue of the OIC's membership in the National Association of Insurance Commissioners for the United States of America, it is a member of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS), like CIMA. It therefore adheres to the IAIS principles for insurance supervision.

This MoU brings to 11 the number of agreements CIMA has reached with overseas regulatory authorities.

CIMA's Managing Director, Cindy Scotland, observed that this latest MoU was another example of the Authority's commitment to carrying out the obligation it has under the Monetary Authority Law to facilitate cooperation with its regulatory counterparts.

"There are clearly-established gateways under Cayman Islands law to facilitate information disclosure, including confidential information, by Cayman authorities. Even outside of the MoUs, CIMA routinely provides assistance to overseas regulators in accordance with the law. However, the MoUs and other agreements that we have negotiated streamline and clarify the system for information sharing for regulatory purposes, further facilitating the process on both sides," she commented recently.

"CIMA is actively negotiating MoUs with other regulators and expects to be able to announce an agreement with a major G7 regulator shortly," Scotland added.

In addition to the MoU with the OIC, cross-border agreements exist with the Jersey Financial Services Commission; the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, Canada; the Central Bank of Brazil; the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities Exchange Commission; the Isle of Man Financial Supervision Commission; the Bermuda Monetary Authority; the Bank of Jamaica; the Superintendency of Banks of the Republic of Panama, and a multi-lateral MoU with eight Caribbean regulators.

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