With newly elected administrations in both the UK and the EU, a Cayman Islands delegation led by the Deputy Premier and the Minister for Financial Services and Commerce, André Ebanks, had many opportunities to forge new relationships as well as strengthen existing ones, the Ministry of Financial Services said in a press release.
“These very successful meetings gave our delegation informative insights on UK and EU positions and policies,” he said. “They resulted in commitments to deeper engagement between the Cayman Islands and UK, and the EU, and we also provided our distinguished hosts and stakeholders strong messaging on policy developments in the Cayman Islands.”
Starting in the UK, Deputy Premier Ebanks had briefings with journalists on 9 September followed by a UK Parliamentary drop-in on 10 September, during which a number of UK MPs visited a room reserved in the Palace of Westminster, where the UK Parliament meets, to discuss topics ranging from anti-money laundering (AML) to cryptocurrency with the Deputy Premier and the delegation. “I thank UK MP Caroline Dinenage for sponsoring this opportunity,” the Deputy Premier said.
On 11 September he and delegation members, including Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) Managing Director Cindy Scotland, spoke with industry leaders during the Cayman Finance roundtable, and participated in the Maples London Investment Funds Forum 2024.
On 12 and 13 September Ebanks, accompanied by Government’s Deputy Representative for Financial Services to Europe Julie Campbell, travelled to Brussels to meet EU officials and EU Member States representatives, including the Directorate-General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union (DG FISMA); the Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union (DG TAXUD) of the European Commission; the Chair of the Code of Conduct Group and other officials from the Council of the European Union; as well as representatives from Spain and from Hungary, which currently holds the Presidency of the Council.
Ebanks and Campbell also met with representatives of the Channel Islands office to exchange insights and updates.
Overall, Deputy Premier Ebanks said the UK and EU discussions focused on policy developments in areas such as tax transparency, anti-money laundering and beneficial ownership information, digital finance and developing markets.
“These meetings provided an excellent opportunity to update stakeholders on the Cayman Islands’ latest regulatory advancements, including our new Beneficial Ownership Transparency Act,” he said.
“Equally important, we reinforced that the Cayman Islands is committed to being proactive, anticipating global standards in relation to AML/CFT and tax transparency, and maintaining a genuine dialogue. Ongoing engagement with the EU is essential to ensuring continued alignment and collaboration.”
Deputy Premier Ebanks will now head to the US for engagement, and will update the public shortly on that visit.
