CIMA admitted into key organisation

| 10/06/2009

(CNS): Updated 9:00 am Thursday – The Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) has been formally admitted as a member of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO). The move is expected to be welcomed by the private sector owing to potential commercial advantage as well as affirming Cayman’s commitment to cross border information exchange. CIMA was admitted as the 189th today (10 June) during the meeting of the Presidents’ Committee at IOSCO’s 34th Annual Conference in Tel Aviv, Israel.

As a full member CIMA also officially becomes a party to the IOSCO Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding Concerning Consultation, Cooperation and the Exchange of Information. CIMA signed the MMOU, which is the benchmark for international cooperation among securities regulators earlier this year on 24 March.

Speaking to the IOSCO President’s Committee CIMA Managing Director CindyScotland said the admission marked the culmination of a period of mutual engagement, dialogue and action by the two bodies.” It serves as a testament to the good faith of both sides in seeing the process through, and is an example of what can be accomplished when international standard setters engage jurisdictions as equal partners with a common objective, ” she added stating that the move was also a validation of Cayman’s willingness to engage other regulators to facilitate cross-border information exchange and assistance.

 

On hearing the news the Leader of Government Business McKeeva Bush who is travelling in the US said it gave a boost to the jurisdiction’s reputation “This is yet another example of the Cayman Islands continued commitment to meeting and exceeding international standards,” he said. “As a major player in the hedge funds industry worldwide, it is fitting that the leading hedge funds domicile is now a full member of the international standards setting body for securities markets.  It is proof that not only does the Cayman Islands exceed commercially in this important area of the global financial services industry, but that we are also recognized as meeting the highest international regulatory standards.”

Following the admission Scotland said in a statement that the granting of membership was an accomplishment not just for CIMA but for the jurisdiction as a whole as the membership screening and jurisdictional assessment process had been rigorous.

CIMA’s Deputy Managing Director – General Counsel, Langston Sibblies who is also in Israel attending the conference, which ends on Thursday, explained that in addition to being an acknowledgement of the Cayman Islands regulatory system and international cooperation regime, IOSCO membership had significant commercial benefits.  “Some countries either do not allow investment vehicles from non-IOSCO member countries to be sold in their jurisdictions or will require greatly enhanced due diligence which makes it more difficult to do business with those jurisdictions,” he added.

“IOSCO membership will remove these impediments and open up these markets for Cayman-domiciled securities providers. This is a development our private sector has looked forward to for a long time. It will be welcomed by the private sector.”

IOSCO is the principal global standard setting body for the regulation of securities markets. Its objectives encompass cooperation and information exchange, standard setting and surveillance, and mutual assistance.

Category: Business

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  1. Anonymous says:

    Well done CIMA, another milestone for the Cayman Islands. I guess we might be soon off the grey list, with continued regulations in place. 

    Congrats to Cindy and her team!!!

     

  2. Afraid to Strap on a Pair Also says:

    Anonomous 16:13- Don’t go there!  This week’s events don’t validate a crappy decision.

  3. Anonymous says:

    Remarkable!

    There were nearly a hundred angry postings just a month ago personally bashing Cindy Scotland when CIMA rehired Gordon Rowell just this past April:  declaring she ‘ought to be ashamed of herself’ and even to the extent of claiming to refuse to vote for Mark in the BT election.

    Where are these commentors now, I wonder.  Only interested to write mean-spirited statements? No acknowledgment or recognition when it is something positive?  The silence is DEAFENING!

    Come on Caymanians – why do we find it so hard to look after and appreciate our own?

    Well done Cindy and CIMA – this is a milestone achievement for our financial industry;  As a born and bred Caymanian and one who relies on the financial industry to make my living – thanks for your hard work.

    M McLaughlin

  4. Anonymous says:

    Go CIMA and Cayman!  I am sure Mr. Ridley was instrumental in this.  We should also be proud of the whole CIMA team under the leadership of Mrs. Scotland.  This is the kind of news we need.  Keep up the good work.  Just please focus on being more business friendly.  This will go a very long way!  It’s a shame that ever since Alden McLaughlin appointed his cousin as CIMA Chairman we have heard next to nothing from him about anything.  UDP, needs to correct some of the PPM’s nepotism mistakes.  That goes for Cayman Airways too!

  5. S Ebanks says:

     Echo Mr. Ridley’s sentiments.  This is a significant step in the right direction and certainly a long awaited and welcome announcement.

    Congratulations to the team at CIMA and all those individuals who worked tirelessly to make this happen! 

  6. Tim Ridley says:

    This is excellent news and is the result of many years of painstaking endeavour by the CIMA Team. They are to be congratulated on their achievement. Notwithstanding many set backs along the way (multidimensional is an understatement in describing  the IOSCO application process), CIMA has shown that persistence does pay and good regulation is rewarded. The OECD should follow the example of IOSCO