Finance
UK chancellor backs Cayman’s position on beneficial ownership
(CNS Business): The government has released the response it received from Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, to the letter sent to him by Financial Services Minister Wayne Panton about the Cayman government’s position on the sharing of beneficial ownership information. The UK’s senior Cabinet minister has accepted that any new future regime or […]
Cayman changes perception of offshore centres
(CNS Business): The narrative that the Cayman Islands and other offshore jurisdictions are to blame for the world’s corruption, financial crime and tax evasion is finally changing, Premier Alden McLaughlin and Financial Services Minister Wayne Panton believe. Having openly agreed to sign up to any new mechanisms for exchange of information on beneficial ownership at […]
Cayman is on the right path
Grumpy the Cat writes: It sounds like many of the posters on here do not understand that there is a world outside of the Cayman Islands. There are some important events around some funky law firm in Panama and some “independent” journalist organisation that has galvanized much of what in the past was just conjecture.
Industry relieved by Cayman’s limited Panama links
(CNS Business): Although the Cayman Islands appears a number of times in the Panama Papers, which have now been made public, given the amount of data leaked, the jurisdiction has a relatively limited and benign part in the story. As government officials and financial service sector representatives do their level best this week to promote […]
Cayman to extend BO info exchange and repeal secrecy law
(CNS Business): After just two days in London, the Cayman Islands Government has announced plans to enter into deals, similar to the one it has with the UK, over the exchange of beneficial ownership information with other jurisdictions and to amend the notorious secrecy law. On the eve of the UK’s anti-corruption summit, Premier Alden […]
Panama Papers published on line
(CNS Business): The huge database of documents, now known as the Panama Papers, relating to more than 200,000 offshore accounts has been posted online. The full database became accessible to the public for the first time at 18:00 GMT on Monday at offshoreleaks.icij.org. Anyone can now search the extensive data base, which includes many entities registered […]
UN calls for greater global tax coherence
(CNS Business): Statistics released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Tuesday revealed considerable volatility in foreign direct investment flows in 2015, with investment flows to offshore financial centres retreating from a high of $132 billion in 2013 to $75 billion, in line with previous years. But the report noted that there […]
UK-Cayman beneficial ownership deal more secure than register
(CNS Business): The system agreed by the UK and the Cayman Islands over how beneficial ownership information will be shared with the relevant authorities is safer than a centralised public register because the new platform for access will not require information to be aggregated in one place, which would have made it vulnerable to hackers, […]
Butterfield reports increase in earnings but fall in profit
(CNS Business): Butterfield Bank reported an increase in its core earnings for the first quarter of this year of more than 24% but saw its net income decline by $1.2 million, or 4.3%, compared to the same time last year. During the first three months of the year, bank officials said asset quality was strong […]
Law paves way for new offshore business
(CNS Business): The financial services minister steered a piece of legislation through the Legislative Assembly Wednesday that he said paves the way for a new type of business vehicle in the Cayman Islands, which has been driven by industry demand. The Limited Liability Company Bill, 2015, which was presented by Wayne Panton and passed unanimously […]
Minister points to worrying trend at EU grilling
(CNS Business): The Cayman Islands financial services minister says there is a worrying trend in attitudes towards offshore financial services in Europe that would go well beyond concerns about automatic exchange of information and public access to beneficial ownership. Wayne Panton said some European politicians appear to be reverting back to arguments from the 1990’s […]
CIMA battles to find insurance chief
(CNS Business): The Cayman Islands Monetary Authority has struggled to find someone for the post of Head of the Insurance Division, officials said, citing fierce competition in the insurance sector as a contributing factor. At present, the post has been temporarily filled by Ruwan Jayasekera, who is very experienced and known to the industry, and […]
Law firm seeks to block ex-employees’ new jobs
(CNS Business): Appleby (Cayman) Limited has filed an application for a judicial review of a decision by the chief immigration officer, who granted rival firm Harneys temporary work permits for two of their former employees. Appleby claims that at the time, it still held work permits for Jonathan Bernstein and Ian Gobin, and that, according to […]
Name change for accountants’ regulator
(CNS Business): The regulating body of Cayman’s accountancy profession has changed its name to to the Cayman Islands Institute of Professional Accountants (CIIPA). Formerly the Cayman Islands Society of Professional Accountants, the organisation says its new name, which was officially changed during a recent Extraordinary General Meeting, more accurately illustrates its critical role as regulator […]
Corbyn queries Cayman’s celebration over UK deal
(CNS Business): The fact that the Cayman Islands has welcomed the recent agreement with the UK over how it will share beneficial ownership details with British law enforcement and tax authorities was used against Prime Minister David Cameron this week by the opposition leader in the British parliament. Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn pointed to […]
Recent comments