About Cayman

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About Cayman

A strong regulatory framework and a culture of compliance with international standards

The Cayman Islands is one of the world’s leading providers of institutionally focused, specialised financial services and a preferred destination for the structuring and domiciling of sophisticated financial services products. The success of the financial services industry is attributed to our sound regulatory regime and political and economic stability, supported by highly skilled and experienced service providers. Additionally, we are vigilant in ensuring adherence to recognised and relevant international standards and committed to supporting global efforts to fight financial crime. 

 

50+ years of financial services innovation

Political and economic stability with a sophisticated legal regime

Standard-setter for regulatory and industry best practices

High level of service provider expertise

Business-friendly environment

Industry Sectors

Playing a vital role in the Cayman Islands economy, financial services generated CI$1.74 billion of the GDP in 2017 (44.1% of the total economy) and accounted for 16.8% of all employment. The following sectors make up our financial services sector.

Investment Funds

The Cayman Islands has been and continues to be the epicentre of alternative investment funds, including hedge funds, private equity funds, real estate and pension funds. In line with the jurisdiction’s long history of being a leader in the early adoption of international regulatory initiatives, in 1993 we were the first Caribbean jurisdiction to implement hedge fund legislation.

Insurance

The Cayman Islands is the second largest captive domicile in the world with approximately 650 captives, and the leading jurisdiction for healthcare captives. The international segment of the Cayman Islands insurance industry generated more than US$15.4 billion in premiums and held over US$68.7 billion in total assets in 2017.

Trusts

The Cayman Islands remains a top international location for the provision of trust services, due in part to our secure legal framework for trusts based on English common law as well as a sophisticated regulatory regime by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority.

Banking

With branches of 40 of the world’s 50 largest banks, Cayman currently ranks in the top 20 internationally in terms of value of liabilities and assets booked. Branches and subsidiaries are regulated by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority on the basis of consolidated supervision in connection with the bank’s home regulator.

Structured Finance

The Cayman Islands offers top-class law firms which specialise in capital markets and structured finance transactions for a global client base of institutional clients, and is a leading international provider of such services. Cayman Islands special purpose vehicles (SPVs) also benefit from easy access to the listing facility of the Cayman Islands Stock Exchange (CSX). The listing rules for the CSX were the first of any exchange to be specifically tailored to facilitate the listing of securities of funds and SPVs.

Corporate Services

The Cayman Islands offers a full range of corporate services, including providing registered office, company incorporation, maintenance of company records, company secretarial and directorship services. All company management and corporate services businesses are regulated by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority, whose oversight includes licensing, ongoing supervision and enforcement.

Ship Registration

The Cayman Islands Shipping Registry (CISR) is a first-class organisation with a worldwide reputation for excellence and efficiency in global shipping. Its pragmatic approach ensures maximum responsiveness to the needs of ship owners whilst maintaining international standards at the highest level as demonstrated by its “white list” categorisation by the European Port State Control system and by the U.S. Coast Guard. As a Category 1 British Registry, the CISR is qualified to register vessels of all sizes and classes, from yachts to supertankers.

Aircraft Registration

The Cayman Islands Aircraft Registry is the registry of choice for many owners and management companies with corporate aircraft. Highly respected and recognised throughout the aviation industry internationally, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Cayman Islands (CAACI) is the statutory body responsible for aviation regulatory oversight throughout the Cayman Islands and for aircraft registered in the Cayman Islands.

Our History

Dating back to the 1960s with the introduction of the Companies Law, the Banks & Trust Companies Regulations Law and The Trusts Law, the Cayman Islands has a long history of being a sophisticated business–friendly environment.  

For over 50 years, we have maintained our position as a leading international financial centre through the enactment of numerous financial services legislation and proactive engagement and voluntary cooperation with international regulatory standards. We were one of the first non-OECD jurisdictions to adopt the principals of transparency and exchange of information, and the jurisdiction continues to be at the forefront of such initiatives. 

Underpinning the stability, integrity and quality of the Cayman Islands financial services sector are validations by several third-party reviews, including:

Reinforcing our international cooperation efforts and key to facilitating the continual flow of information between OECD countries, Cayman also has over 120 Tax Information Exchange Agreements in place, and it has been a legal requirement in Cayman to collect, verify and maintain beneficial ownership information on Cayman entities and arrangements for over 15 years. 

With financial services comprising 44.1% of the Cayman Islands GDP and employing 16.8% of the workforce in 2017, we are committed to providing a stable, responsible and responsive business environment and view appropriate regulation and international cooperation as the key drivers of commercial success, not an impediment to it.