The number of financial institutions establishing themselves in the Cayman Islands’ offshore sector rose 7 percent last fiscal year, according to the Caribbean tax haven’s financial regulator. There were 570 banks and trusts with branches or subsidiaries in the British dependency, according to a Cayman Islands Monetary Authority report on the fiscal year.
Licenses for the offshore business rose 7 percent – to 709 from 663 – and mutual funds increased to 6,527 in 2005 from 5,399 in 2004, the latest figures offered by regulators in the islands. The insurance and mutual fund sectors grew fastest.
International assets booked through banks in the Cayman Islands stood at US$1.26 billion (Euro 952 million), according to a statement. Light regulation and strict confidentiality laws helped make the Cayman Islands one of the world’s largest offshore banking centres, but the local regulators have tightened up since the islands appeared on an international blacklist of 15 alleged money laundering havens six years ago.