Cayman Praised For Robust Regulation

by Amanda Banks, Tax-News.com, London

14 November 2011

The Cayman Islands' adherence to global regulatory and supervisory standards on international cooperation and information exchange has been found 'sufficiently' strong' - the highest assessment possible - by the Financial Stability Board (FSB), in a report commissioned by the G20.

The FSB is a supranational body whose membership includes the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the Committee on the Global Financial System. According to the FSB, the Cayman Islands is one of 41 jurisdictions that, in the most recent International Monetary Fund-World Bank assessment reports, was determined to be compliant or largely compliant with all, except one, of the relevant cooperation and information exchange standards. A total of 61 jurisdictions were evaluated.

Premier and Minister for Finance, McKeeva Bush, said the FSB’s conclusions on the Cayman regime are a “robust affirmation that the jurisdiction is well respected, and a good place to conduct business".

Moreover, “in terms of cooperation, the islands are placed alongside the giant economies of the G7 and G20 countries,” Bush noted.

Territories were assessed based on their frameworks for the implementation of:

• The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision’s Core Principles for Effective Banking Supervision;
• The International Association of Insurance Supervisors Insurance Core Principles and Methodology; and,
• The International Organization of Securities Commission Objectives and Principles of Securities Regulation.

Chairman of the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority, George McCarthy, added: “This assessment validates the extensive focus the Cayman Islands has placed on international cooperation and involvement in regulatory matters. CIMA has put significant resources into ensuring that we meet international standards that relate to all the sectors we supervise.”

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