Divisions

CIMA carries out its day-to-day activities through its divisions together with the Managing Director’s Office. All divisions and sections operate in accordance with CIMA's Regulatory Handbook.

Anti-Money Laundering Division

The Anti-Money Laundering Division is responsible for developing and implementing the Authority’s anti-money laundering/counter financing of terrorism (“AML/CFT”) supervisory and regulatory strategy while ensuring an efficient and effective operation that meets or exceeds international standards.The strategic purpose of the division is to enhance the role and credibility of the Authority, as the main AML supervisor for the financial services industry as well as providing timely feedback to improve industry’s AML/CFT compliance thereby reducing the risk exposure of licensees.

Banking Supervision Division

The Banking Supervision Division monitors activities of licensed and registered banks, bank and trust companies, money service businesses, building societies and credit unions through an integrated risk-based supervisory approach while ensuring compliance with regulatory legislation.

Compliance Division

The Compliance Division’s primary responsibilities are:

• investigating serious breaches of the regulatory acts and directing and administering formal enforcement actions taken by the Authority;
• conducting risk weighted due diligence checks on persons who have applied to act as directors, shareholders, managers, officers and controllers of licensed entities, and
• administering and responding to non-routine requests for assistance received from overseas regulatory authorities.

Money Laundering Reporting Officer - The Head of Compliance is the Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO) for CIMA under the Proceeds of Crime Act. Any suspicion of money laundering identified in the course of the Authority’s supervisory activities by Authority staff is reported to the MLRO, who is responsible for reporting to the Financial Reporting Authority.

Currency Division

The Monetary Authority, through its Currency Operations Division, is the sole issuing authority for Cayman Islands currency.

The division is responsible for the issue, re-issue, and withdrawal of Cayman Islands circulating currency notes and coins against the United States dollar, dealing with the local retail banks.

The division also administers the sale and redemption of numismatic coins to and from local and overseas collectors.

Fiduciary Services Division

The Fiduciary Services Division ensures the enforcement of prudent practices by professionals in the trust and corporate industries, such as company managers, corporate service providers and all trust companies not having a banking licence. 

Finance Division

The Finance Division has responsibility for all financial matters relating to budget, annual licence fee collection, payroll, and accounts payable. The division is also responsible for preparation of the Monetary Authority’s financial statements and the Purchase & Ownership Agreements between the Cabinet of the Cayman Islands Government and the Authority. The division’s objectives are essentially created by the financial requirements of the organisation and its stakeholders and the resources available to it.

Financial Stability & Statistics Division

The Financial Stability & Statistics Division contributes to the enhancement of CIMA’s risk-based prudential supervision by aiding in the design, data onboarding and summary reporting of new reporting forms for dissemination to licensees. The division also assists in the provision of responses, of both a statistical and non-statistical nature on the financial sector, to various international and domestic organisations.

Human Resources Division

The Human Resources Division has responsibility for all employee matters relating to recruitment, employee training and development, as well as the administration of personnel policies, procedures and practices for the effective functioning and well-being of CIMA's staff. The division’s objectives are largely driven by the human resource needs of the organisation and the resources available to the unit to carry out identified strategies.

Information Systems Division

The Information Systems Division is responsible for the maintenance of the Authority’s existing information and telecommunications systems, the planning and implementation of new systems and developments relating to these.

Insurance Division

The Insurance Supervision Division is responsible for the supervision, regulation, and licensing of all insurance companies and insurance brokers, managers and agents through an integrated risk-based supervisory approach while ensuring compliance with regulatory legislation.

Investments Supervision Division

The Investments Supervision Division regulates and oversees the activities of funds and fund administrators operating in and from the Cayman Islands through an integrated risk-based supervisory approach while ensuring compliance with regulatory legislation.

Legal Division

The Legal Division provides advice to the Board of Directors, the Managing Director, and all the divisions within the Authority. The division has a central role in all cases involving the provision of formal assistance to overseas regulatory authorities, and provides support on all aspects of the Authority's responsibilities for combatting money laundering and terrorist financing.

The division aims to ensure that the Authority's procedures permit it, at all times, to act within the spirit and to the letter of the regulatory act, and that all laws are kept under review to ensure that they remain effective.

The division assists with civil litigation and drafting legal documents such as directives, memoranda of understanding, and instructions for amendments to existing legislation, and assists in the review of applications for licensing from financial institutions.

Information requests submitted under the  Freedom of Information initiative are handled by the Legal Division.

Onsite Inspection Unit

On-site supervision involves inspections and supervisory visits at licensees’ place of operation both in the Cayman Islands and overseas. These inspections can be full-scope, or may be limited to specific areas of the licensee/registrant’s operations.

The objectives of the inspection process are to understand the licensee’s business activities and operating environment, to detect problems of compliance with the relevant acts and/or regulations, and to gather information on matters identified as requiring policy considerations.

Policy & Development Division

The Policy & Development Division focuses on research in the area of financial sector regulation and supervision. The division has a cross-functional role and provides support mainly to the Monetary Authority's five supervisory divisions: Banking, Insurance, Investments, Securities and Fiduciary, by providing:

• information;
• advice on policy issues, and
• recommendations on required changes to policy and legislation for the financial sector.

The division is responsible for the coordination of the development of Rules, Statements of Guidance and Statements of Principle applicable to financial services providers to ensure that they are well regulated in accordance with, where applicable, international standards such as the Basel Core Principles for Banking, the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), and the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS).

The division also assists in devising recommendations for change to financial services legislation.

A key aspect is research of international developments and initiatives; analysis of the impact on the local financial services industry; and formulation of appropriate responses for consideration by the Authority. In addition, the division assists in the provision of responses, of both a statistical and non-statistical nature on the financial sector, to various international and domestic organisations.

Securities Supervision Division

The Securities Supervision Division is solely focused on the regulation of activities relating to securities investment business practitioners through an integrated risk-based supervisory approach while ensuring compliance with regulatory legislation.

Contact Information

For a divisional email, phone and fax listing, and information on CIMA's hours of operation,  please click here.