Changes To Financial Services Legislation In Cayman Islands

by Carla Johnson, Investors Offshore.com, London

24 April 2008

Amendments to both the Banks and Trust Companies Law and the Mutual Funds Law in the Cayman Islands are soon to be tabled in the Legislative Assembly for debate, it was announced recently.

The Banks and Trust Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2008 and the Mutual Funds (Amendment) Bill, 2008, were published in Supplement Nos. 2 and 3 respectively of the Cayman Islands Gazette, No. 8, on 14th April 2008.

Among the proposed changes in the Banks and Trust Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2008, is a general provision for trust company licensing exemptions to be made by regulations.

It is understood that regulations under consideration include a registration regime for private trust companies, that is, companies that do not provide trust services to the general public, but only to parties within a defined family relationship.

Another amendment seeks to expand the scope of activity for controlled subsidiaries of full trust companies.

The Mutual Funds (Amendment) Bill, 2008 contains a mix of provisions, including one which enables funds from foreign jurisdictions that may not be on the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority's approved list to nevertheless be administered by Cayman administrators, where such funds are otherwise regulated funds under the Mutual Funds Law.

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