THE ANNUAL CAYMAN FUNDS ROUND TABLE


Harris: CIMA was concerned by the number of directorships that some people had. They thought full disclosure through a database was the safest way.


Where does the industry stand on the introduction of a register of beneficial ownership for


Cayman vehicles? Harris: Fund managers—and their own investors—don’t want their investors disclosed because that’s their client base.


Ackerley: That crosses the line on transparency. I personally think that becomes a confidentiality issue—why would anybody want to have a public list of all shareholders?


Rogers: Cayman needs to have the courage of its convictions and stand firm on this. We know our industry best, we know how we deliver our services best. We know what will work and what will not, and we can form a view as to the likely value of any such disclosure. I understand why UK prime minister David Cameron may make his suggestions but there is a long road to be travelled before the UK itself introduces such a register, so we should not feel pressured to go down the same path.


Harris: He said it will not apply to trusts. It will be beneficiaries. So it would apply to corporate entities but not trusts.


Ackerley: They haven’t committed to this in the UK, so why would Cayman do it first? From an international perspective, we’re ranked higher than the UK for the availability of beneficial owner information.


Lock: The fact that the deadline for comments has [at the time of the discussion] just been pushed back is probably quite telling of industry’s view of this.


It is always a balance between transparency and ensuring efficiency for business. Is the balance right at


the moment? Ackerley: With FATCA there was no choice. Cayman had to comply and we made the right decision and chose the right model. When it comes to the issue of registered beneficial ownership, that’s different and I am not sure we are getting it right.


Harris: We have always taken pride in being the lead in legislation, but it hasn’t always paid off because it is sometimes perceived as ‘Cayman gives in’. It can also give our competition an advantage in the short term each time before they sign up.


I have been here for 47 years and I would not say legislation is necessarily


the biggest threat. Every time legislation takes place it always seems the end of the world. But we’ve recovered and carried on. So there’s always going to be a place for offshore financial centres and I’m pretty certain that Cayman will stay in the forefront.


Do we have the balance right? I don’t know. Particularly on this register of


beneficial ownership, it needs more measured thought. There does seem to be better communication between the public and private sectors now.


Rogers: There have certainly been peaks and troughs in the way the public sector and private sector work together. We’re on an upswing now but there are still occasions where regulation is introduced with minimal consultation or warning. Cayman Finance has an important role to play in


helping to promote communication, and this should increase the chances of maintaining the appropriate balance.


Dickie: I agree that there’s always room for improvement, although we sometimes lose sight of the fact that we’re still doing a better job on this than other jurisdictions. We can sit here and find flaws in our system but overall I think we still do a great job.


Harris: I’ve always suggested that Cayman should follow the UK on many laws. They have done the research and there’s no point reinventing the wheel. For example, we are one of the few territories to do due diligence on many things. We were proud about that but there was quite a cost involved. Instead, we should follow the UK’s lead to a certain extent and then we can make up our minds whether we want to follow or not.


Lock: The Cayman regulator did listen in the consultation process on the statement of guidance and corporate governance. It may have taken some time and effort, but the regulator did listen to what the industry had to say.


Fagan: For the most part CIMA does the right things and seems to be ahead of the curve.


Dickie: Over the years there have been so many regulations, the costs add up incrementally. For a jurisdiction today trying to get into the market that is a real barrier to entry. We’re making these continuous investments in our regulatory framework to stay in that top class of jurisdiction and there’s an advantage to that. Although these are often perceived as nuisances, they allow us to remain competitive.


Ackerley: Let’s not lose sight of the fact that while there are always issues to deal with in our industry there are few places that do it better.


Windsor: It is true that investors have confidence in the Cayman Islands. What about the effects of FATCA?


Dickie: We’re suffering from FATCA fatigue. But there’s a general confidence that people know roughly what it’s going to look like at the end and people are ready. They’ve talked to their administrators over the past few years and identified any accounts that need to be


CAYMAN FUNDS | 2014 7


“The Cayman Islands became the success it is because of regulation rather than in spite of it.” Nick Rogers


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