Leadership
Cindy Scotland outlines the progress the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority has made in the face of changing local and international re/insurance standards.
Cindy, could you tell us a little about your background before you became managing director of the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA), and how this experience has helped you in your current role?
I joined the authority at its inception in January 1997 as the head
of currency operations, and was promoted to the post of general manager in June of that year. Prior to the authority, I spent six years with one of its predecessor organisations, the Cayman Islands Currency Board, the last three of those years as the board’s manager. As the managing director of the authority since June 2002, I am responsible for the implementation of policies to ensure the sound management of the Cayman Islands’ currency and the effective supervision of the more than 14,000 regulated entities operating in and from the Cayman Islands. I also have responsibility for the development and maintenance of strong working relationships between CIMA and other international regulatory bodies.
Obviously, my 19 years of experience within the public service,
and specifically in the area of finance, has positioned me well to deal with the many challenges we face today.
I also represent the jurisdiction extensively on regulatory matters to
organisations including the Offshore Group of Banking Supervisors, the International Organization of Securities Commissions, the International Monetary Fund and the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force, as well as on a regulator-to-regulator basis.
As managing director of CIMA, what have been your greatest triumphs and challenges during your time as head of the authority?
In the area of financial services regulation, there are always
daily challenges and triumphs. For me personally, and I think for many regulators, the greatest challenge is the ability to keep
pace with the ever-evolving international standards and ensuring that, as a jurisdiction, we are always in compliance. A few of my greatest triumphs as managing director have been Cayman’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) blacklist, the authority gaining membership in the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) as well as the many independent assessments that have been conducted and have all proven that we are a well-regulated jurisdiction.
What role has CIMA played in maintaining Cayman’s leading position as a captive domicile and what have been the major lessons learned in recent years?
Clearly, there are some fundamental tenets that we try and
adhere to, including being fair, transparent and consistent in our treatment of licensees, and we further have a highly competent set of regulators with an excellent legislative framework.
However, one factor that does differentiate CIMA is that we
go to great lengths to understand not only the insurance captive programme, but also the role of the captive as part of the overall risk management programme of the parent company. This is done through face-to-face meetings before, during and after the formation of a captive, and has many benefits, including developing close working relationships with the captive boards of directors and their insurance managers, but also in anticipating and avoiding problems that may occur during different market cycles, such as soft pricing and credit availability.
Interestingly enough, with the advent of Solvency II and Basel III,
the world has shifted away from a prescriptive compliance-based approach to a regulatory approach that is both risk-based and proportional to the scope, nature and complexity of the licensee. This is an approach CIMA has always taken with our licensees
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