The Cayman Islands’ Rule and Statement of Guidance on the Nature, Accessibility and Retention of Records for Licensees Conducting the Business of Company Management was brought into full effect for all licensees.
The Rule and Statement of Guidance (Rule and SOG) is designed to establish minimum requirements for licensed Corporate Service Providers (CSPs) engaged in the business of company management, under the Companies Management Act (CMA), Banks & Trust Companies Act (BTCA), Mutual Funds Act (MFA) and Insurance Act (IA), and Trust Service Providers (TSPs) under the BTCA, to maintain their records in a manner that promotes accessibility, retention and appropriate security.
The Rule and SOG was gazetted and published by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) on 30 August 2023, at which time it came into effect for new licensees. However existing licensees were permitted a transition period for compliance until 1 April 2024.
CSPs and TSPs or persons conducting the business of company management are responsible for a wide range of records, including financial, corporate, client and due diligence records. They must ensure records are kept up-to-date and establish a management programme addressing categorisation, retention and disposal of records.
Records must be kept for a minimum of five years after each related transaction date or as required by relevant acts and regulations. This period may be longer where the records relate to fiduciary relationships with clients.
When records are held outside the Cayman Islands, licensees must ensure that CIMA has access to records at all reasonable times. Where they have no physical presence in the Cayman Islands, there must be no restrictions to the access of records by CIMA regarding the entity or its clients.