December 22, 2006. According to the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA), the country's financial regulator, the number of financial institutions setting up shop in Cayman's thriving offshore sector rose 7% in fiscal year 2005.
In accordance with the report of CIMA, there were 570 banks and trusts in the Cayman Islands and the world's top banks had branches or subsidiaries there.
Licenses for the offshore business rose 7% and the number of mutual funds increased significantly. Insurance and mutual fund had the most growth.
On December 5, 2006, it was revealed that International assets booked through banks in the Cayman Islands had stood at USD 1.26 billion.
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October 23, 2006. Butterfield Bank (Cayman) Limited started offering a Gold mortgage as a Butterfield Lifestyle Mortgages product. The product is expected to suit the clients with a high disposable income who wishes to make the available cash work harder.
As the bank announced, the benefits of the new product are a variable interest rate of prime +0.5%, a pre-approved Butterfield VISA Gold credit card and preferential insurance terms with Island Heritage.
A loan is subject to credit approval. As with all Butterfield Lifestyle Mortgages, the loan can be established on a fixed rate basis and payment options are available.
According to Maureen Watler, Head of Personal Lending at Butterfield Bank, the Butterfield Gold Mortgage is for people who intends to buy a substantially larger home. A 10% down payment, up to 25 years repayment term, a low interest rate and low bank fee are the conditions set for both existing and new clients.
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August 14, 2006. Two new facts confirm the healthy growth of Cayman Islands Financial services sector.
The Jersey Financial Services Commission has included the Cayman Islands – the biggest offshore banking jurisdiction – into the list of states and territories having an equivalent anti-money laundering legislation.
The Cayman Islands Monetary Authority considers this to be an important benefit to Cayman-based financial institutions and their customers doing business with Jersey-based financial institutions. Now, if the customer meets Cayman's customer identification requirements, Jersey's customer identification procedures will be satisfied, which will save time and money that could have been spent processing and providing know-your-customer documentation to Jersey.
The listing of Cayman was preceded by months of discussion between the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) and its Jersey counterpart and CIMA's participation at international forums pressing for mutual recognition of equivalent frameworks of anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing among jurisdictions.
Cindy Scotland, CIMA Managing Director, expressed her satisfaction about Jersey having been added to its list and added that CIMA is continuing to hold bilateral negotiations with regulators in countries which have not listed Cayman Islands as having equivalent anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing frameworks.
The 2nd fact is related to banking sector.
Cayman Islands Bankers' Association (CIBA) has emphasized that the banking industry is very essential for the economy of Cayman Islands as this sector accounts for approximately 25% of the Cayman Islands' GDP.
The impact study was carried out by a Miami-based research company, StratInfo, that previously carried out a study for the Florida International Bankers Association. The methods it uses are focused on the major economic links between banking and the economy, including the payment of fees and indirect taxes to the government, income of bank employees and banks' purchases of professional and administrative services from other economy sectors.
In accordance with the report endorsed by the Cayman Islands Financial Services Association, the banking sector contributes USD 500 million to the economy; USD 407 million of this sum is direct impact, while the remaining is indirect and induced one.
Mr Eduardo D'Angelo P. Silva, CIFSA Director and CIBA President, suggested that as far as the banking sector is a core part of the financial sector as well as the most established one in the jurisdiction, it is necessary to quantitatively understand the way it contributes to the economy.
The study revealed the importance of the employment for the banking sector, comprising 8% of total employment in the Cayman Islands, while salary and wage is related to expenditure accounted for 62.5% of the total economic impact.
The study estimated direct contribution to government revenues at USD 32.2 million or about 6.4% of the total impact.
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June 2, 2006. Several changes and re-appointments were recently made in the board of directors of the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority. Dr Christopher Rose and Professor William Gilmore were appointed as the new members of the board, and Dr Warren Coats was re-appointed. All appointments were made on behalf of the Cabinet for a three-year term. The terms of the previous members of the board, Ms Letitia Solomon and Sir Alan Traill, expired in March and April, respectively.
Dr Christopher Rose has academic qualifications in science, medicine, law, finance and business from institutions in Canada and the UK. He is the member of the Canadian Bar Association, Bar of England and Wales, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts, Cayman Islands Society of Financial Analysts, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. He is also known for numerous publications.
Professor William Gilmore is professor of international criminal law at the University of Edinburgh. Previously he was the Head, Crime Unit and Assistant Director, Legal Division for the Commonwealth Secretariat in London. He has published numerous books and articles, the latest is 'Dirty Money: The Evolution of Money Laundering Counter Measures'. He is the member of the Select Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures (Council of Europe). He holds an LLM and a PhD from the University of London, an MA from Carleton University, and an LLB from the University of Edinburgh.
Dr Coats is an economist who has worked 26 years with the International Monetary Fund; also he has worked with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and for the World Bank as part of its World Development Report team. Dr Coats has taught at the University of Virginia, the University of Hawaii and George Mason University. He has also published numerous articles on monetary and banking systems. He holds a BA from the University of California, Berkeley, and a PhD from the University of Chicago.
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