Combined 2019 Sectoral Risk Ratings (2020-03-13)

Summary

This document is a General Industry Notice published by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) setting out the results of its 2019 sector-by-sector assessment of inherent money laundering (ML) and terrorist financing (TF) risk across the financial sectors it supervises. CIMA surveyed licensees and registrants (including SIBL Excluded Persons) and rated each sector as Low, Medium-Low, Medium-High or High against five inherent risk factors recommended by the FATF.

• Risk factors assessed: Nature/size/complexity of business, transactions/products/services, delivery channels, customer types, and geographic risk.
• Sectors covered: Banking (split into Category A and Category B banks), money services businesses, trust service providers, corporate service providers, insurance, mutual fund administrators, securities licensees, and SIBL Excluded Persons.
• Content per sector: For each sector the memorandum explains the survey data collected, the rationale for each risk-factor rating, and an overall sector risk rating (e.g. banking overall Medium-High, with Category A banks rated lower risk than Category B banks).

The document is explicitly informational in nature: it explains that these ratings will inform CIMA's risk-based approach to AML/CFT supervision, directing greater supervisory resources to higher-risk sectors and entities. It does not itself create new rules, filing requirements, or compliance deadlines for licensees; rather it is intended to give context that regulated entities can use when performing their own institutional and business risk assessments and calibrating AML/CFT controls proportionate to their sector's inherent risk profile.

Applies to

banks (Category A and Category B), money services businesses, trust service providers, corporate service providers, insurance companies, mutual fund administrators, securities licensees, SIBL Excluded Persons (SIBL EPs)