As a leading international financial centre,
the Cayman Islands are recognised for
its prominent position across a range of
industries. As a result of this market leadership
over a number of decades, the large number
of captive insurance companies and other
international insurance businesses that have
selected Cayman as a domicile for alternative
risk transfer activities can rely on world class
professional support in banking, as well as
accounting, legal and fiduciary services.
It perhaps goes without saying that as one
of the most experienced group of insurance
managers anywhere in the world, the
professionals in the Cayman Islands, over a
period of 40 plus years, have encountered
practically every eventuality. This expertise
helps facilitate structures that deliver the
maximum efficiency in terms of speed
to market and operational factors. This
deep experience is evident, not just on the
healthcare side, where Cayman has been the
market leader for a generation, but in sectors
such as workers’ compensation, employee
benefits and the growing cyber threat.
The captive insurance sector is second only
to the investment funds business in terms of
the work generated for Cayman’s financial
services industry and Cayman’s insurance
managers, which have deep relationships with
the financial industry regulator, the Cayman
Islands Monetary Authority. The ability to
regularly sit down with your regulator and
frankly discuss issues that may be of concern to
your clients, perfectly illustrates how Cayman’s
industry has developed over many years with
a high degree of cooperation between the
public and private sector. The private sector
understands what their clients want, whilst
the Government and CIMA are committed to
introducing market-driven changes.
It is well understood that the quality of
the major law firms, auditors and banking
institutions in the Cayman Islands are
equivalent to that which you would find in any
major global financial centre. Cayman’s legal
professionals have pioneered techniques
to seamlessly blend expertise in corporate
law with modern securitisation technology to
support the burgeoning reinsurance industry
and the growing number of firms focused on
Insurance Linked Securities, which has grown
to become a major feature of the international
insurance business.
On the auditing side, the presence of all the
major firms with strong operations in the
Cayman Islands, highlights the maturity
of the jurisdiction, yet it remains dynamic
and nimble enough to identify and act on a
market opportunity with the full support of a
government. The Cayman Islands financial
sector is not just open for international
business but flexible enough to work with its
clients to develop solutions that meet their
specific requirements.
Central to the success of the Cayman Islands
as a leading financial centre is the exceptional
strength of its banking sector, which includes
globally recognised names, characterised by
high levels of liquidity, impressive profitability
and strong capitalisation. The sector’s
statistics are striking with regulatory capital
to risk-weighted assets at 22.2 percent at the
end of 2017, 22.1 percent return on equity and
a liquid assets ratio of 35.9 percent.
Specialising in offshore operations, Cayman
banks provide the captive insurance industry
with general banking services and highly
specialised cash management services
including asset management and credit
products such as Letters of Credit, leveraging
on their close relationships with local law firms.
For firms operating in the Insurance Linked
Securities space, Cayman banks also have
the required expertise in structured lending
products. With the highly skilled and dedicated
professionals based on the Island, captive
insurance companies have a wide range of
world class local providers to choose from for
their banking requirements.
CAPTIVE INSIGHT
WITH THE PERFECT
CONDITIONS IN
PLACE TO FLOURISH,
INTERNATIONAL
BUSINESS HAS
CONTINUED TO
GRAVITATE TOWARDS
THE JURISDICTION
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