Cayman Islands Financial Services Offer Variety and Security

The Cayman Islands have long been associated with offshore business and investments. International banking is strong in the Cayman Islands, with 40 of the worlds largest 50 banks licensed to operate there. A full range of Cayman Island Financial Services are available for both local and international clients, including letters of credit, foreign exchange, guarantees, safe custody, commercial loans, and mortgages.

If you are looking for a place to conduct offshore business or are seeking offshore asset protection, the Cayman Islands give companies a 20-year guarantee against taxation, which can be extended to 30 years. There are no taxes on income, capital gains, profits, dividends, investments, or capital transfers. Taxation benefits extend to individuals, corporations, and trusts.

Privacy of investors is of utmost importance in the Cayman Islands, and unlawfully divulging confidential information is punishable by law.

Other Cayman Islands financial services available to investors include trust services, company services, mutual funds, insurance, vessel registration, capital markets products and the Cayman Islands Stock Exchange.

The Cayman Islands make it easy for you to invest with them. In addition to a wide variety of services, beneficial tax breaks, and strict confidentiality, there are no exchange controls on monetary transactions, meaning you can move your money to or from the island freely and without penalties.

Trusts

One of the most popular a href=http://www.lom.com/cayman-islands-investment-brokerage>Cayman Islands financial servicesis the trust. Used primarily for estate planning, the trust is a flexible instrument that can be arranged for short-term or long-term management of assets free from restrictions of the resident country of the settlor. Trusts are also becoming increasingly popular for managing commercial structures such as mutual funds or structured debt.

The Cayman Islands allow any lawful trust provided it is not contrary to public policy, including person trusts, purpose trusts, and charitable trusts.

Registry of Companies

The Cayman Islands have more than 80,000 companies registered within their jurisdiction. Advantages of registering your company in the Cayman Islands include tax neutrality, reasonable reporting requirements, flexible corporate structures, and expedited registration process, and confidentiality.

Cayman companies can be used to include investment, sales processing, trading, shipping operations, stock dealing, real estate holding, owning and licensing of patents, international financing, structured financing, and general holding companies.

Privacy in all matters is strictly maintained, as the Registrar of Companies can only release the name and type of the company, its date of registration, the address of the registered office, and the companys status.

A company may be registered as one of four basic types:

Resident Company

A company conducting business primarily within the Cayman Islands

Non-Resident Company

A company conducting business in the Cayman Islands only to such a degree as to facilitate foreign business.

A non-resident company must annually provide to the Registrar the names of their members, directors, and capital in addition to maintaining a register of past and present members at the Registrars office. The register is available for public inspection.

Exempted Companies

An exempted company conducts business primarily outside of the Cayman Islands. There are three types of exempted companies:

1. Transfers by Continuation  A company with limited liability and share capital, incorporated in a foreign jurisdiction whose laws do not prohibit the relocation of the company. 2. Exempted Duration Company  A company that can be treated as a partnership but whose duration will be less than 30 years. 3. Segregated Portfolio Company  A company with segregation of assets and liabilities between cells established within an umbrella company.

Foreign Company

A company that conducts local business but has been incorporated outside the Cayman Islands.

In addition to the above, Cayman Islands financial services also include limited partnerships and the extension of patent and trade mark rights to the Cayman Islands.

Whether you are seeking wealth management, asset protection, or shelter from taxes, there are a variety of options available through the Cayman Islands to suit your personal or business needs.

Steve Holder is a writer for LOM Offshore Financial Services . For more information related to offshore investing, please visit www.lom.com