Butterfield Group Welcome Proposed Changes
Butterfield Group – which comprises full-service community banking and wealth management operations in the Cayman Islands and Bermuda, and specialised wealth management and fiduciary services operations in Guernsey, Switzerland, Bahamas and the UK — said it welcomes proposed changes to the laws governing the disclosure of confidential information in the Cayman Islands.
The company said, “Earlier this month, the Cayman Islands Government gazetted a bill to repeal the existing, 40-year old Confidential Relationships [Preservation] Law in favour of a new law outlined in the Confidential Information Disclosure Bill, 2016.
“The latter would see specific criminal penalties for the disclosure of confidential information stricken in favour of the courts assessing liabilities for breaches of confidence under common law and the rules of equity.
“The proposed law would retain a mechanism for institutions and individuals to seek advance court approval for disclosures, which removes ambiguity around the obligations of foreign companies with Cayman Islands operations to furnish information to their home country regulators [or through those regulator[s] to foreign authorities] when requested to do so.”
Michael Collins, Butterfield Group’s Chief Executive Officer, said “The proposed legislation will bring Cayman’s confidentiality laws in line with those of other common law jurisdictions, and will enhance the country’s reputation as a progressive, cooperative and transparent international financial centre.
“We view the change as an important and positive development for the Cayman banking industry, in which many of the larger players, Butterfield included, have significant operations in other locations and are, therefore, subject to the laws of multiple jurisdictions.
“Greater alignment of the approach to and mechanisms for the disclosure of confidential information will redound to the benefit of the Cayman Islands, and we welcome the changes proposed.”
