Financial Services Entities unite to promote first class service in Cayman

The founding board of the Cayman Islands Financial 
Services Association (L-R): Eduardo D'Angelo P Silva, 
Ben Gillooly, Lynne Byles, Eric Crutchley and Charles 
Farrington

Wednesday, December 10, 2003

A new initiative has been established to assist the Cayman Islands in maintaining its reputation as a first class international financial services centre. 

The Cayman Islands Financial Services Association (CIFSA) has been formed to ensure that there are proactive, accurate and responsive public relations in place to operate alongside existing efforts in the Cayman Islands with its mission statement being: "To communicate the integrity and quality of Cayman Islands financial services"

This initiative is being introduced at a time when the financial services industry in most offshore financial centres is undergoing continuous scrutiny by international bodies and when well-regulated centres, such as the Cayman Islands, continue to receive unwarranted and uninformed negative coverage in onshore media.

The founding Board of Directors is, Eric Crutchley, Charles Farrington, Eduardo D'Angelo P Silva and Ben Gillooly. Additional Directors will be appointed at a later date.

"Our aim is to foster and promote the reputation of the Cayman Islands to the level of excellence deserved. 

"As we continue to see our financial industry and consequently the jurisdiction portrayed in a negative light by incorrect facts, it is imperative that we counter this portrayal by educating the general public, especially onshore, and the international media, on the high standards of regulation and best practices which this jurisdiction upholds," said Mr Crutchley, a past president of the Bankers Association and a member of CIFSA. 

"To date we have been relatively quiet on the 'good news' and it is time for that approach to take on a more positive mode," Mr Crutchley continued.

The new body has engaged the services of Tower Marketing, a local marketing firm that has particular experience in the financial services arena as publishers of the Cayman Financial Review (CFR), a premier financial services publication. "We are pleased to partner with the financial services associations on such an important initiative", said Lynne Byles, Managing Director of Tower and Publisher of the Cayman Financial Review.

Neils Heck, President of the Fund Administrators Association explained that the idea behind such a partnership had been discussed for quite some time. 

"We felt that additional private sector effort was necessary to supplement existing promotional efforts," he said. 

"Most of our key competitors in the financial services industry have already formed similar bodies. As the competition in offshore financial services increases, a jurisdiction's ability to communicate that it is well run and adheres to international standards, becomes an important differentiator. 

"We need to be proactive in our approach in order to educate people who only know Cayman's financial services through TV shows such as Law And Order and Grisham novels," said Mr Heck.

The new website marks the first of a number of tasks that the CIFSA aims to achieve over the coming months. It is expected that the website will be fully launched by the end of February 2004. In the meantime the CIFSA will be working on a programme to begin spreading the positive news about the Cayman Islands Financial services industry into the international media. 

The following Cayman Islands Associations are currently participating: Society of Professional Accountants (CISPA), Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP), Fund Administrators Association, Bankers Association, Insurance Managers Association and Chamber of Commerce.

Further participation from other financial sector associations is being sought.

The association can be contacted through Tower Marketing at PO Box 11048 APO, George Town Grand Cayman, telephone number 946 6000, fax 946 6001.

Back...