Cayman

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Return to homepage  |  Last updated: 7 May, 2020

The Ministry of Financial Services has instituted its business continuity plan to minimize staff risk and maintain the confidence of the financial services industry in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Cayman Islands Centre for Business Development opened on Monday, March 23 2020 and provides support to small businesses across the Islands especially during the COVID-19 crisis.

Click here to see a comprehensive summary of jurisdictional tax measures and government reliefs in response to COVID-19.

Butterfield, Cayman National Bank and RBC Royal Bank are implementing measures to provide financial relief to clients impacted by the COVID-19 health crisis.

• In addition to lowering personal lending and mortgage rates, which became effective on 23 March 2020, Butterfield is introducing a three-month automatic payment deferral on all residential mortgages and personal loans in good standing, meaning customers will not be making principal and interest payments for the next three months and any penalties will be waived. Butterfield will also introduce a payment deferral on credit cards for two months beginning in May, so that customers can skip May and June monthly payments without incurring any late fees.
• Butterfield business customers with remaining loan principal of up to $2 million, who are facing difficulties, can pay interest only on their next three monthly loan payments with no penalties.
• RBC Personal banking clients in the Caribbean will immediately benefit from an automatic three-month payment deferral on credit facilities. Business and corporate banking clients are also eligible for the relief program, once they have been assessed by an RBC representative. Automatic payment deferrals will be applied as of 17 March 2020 and remain in effect until 30 June 2020, or until further advised.
• Cayman National will assist clients in good standing by waiving up to three months of loan payments. He asked clients to contact their loan officers to take advantage of this assistance.

• The services being offered by the Centre to the public focus on business continuity training and coaching. Small and medium-sized enterprises with an urgent need for assistance with cash flow management, business impact analysis or those needing to redesign or re-think their business models, are urged to contact the Centre.
• The Centre is offering a number of training and coaching sessions at this time. These sessions include topics such as; Smart Measures for Business Continuity, Best Practices for Handling Cash Flow Crisis, Contacting a Business Impact Analysis, Business Model Innovation, Social Media Marketing, among other areas. The Centre will also work with small businesses to them to be in a position to renegotiate existing loans with commercial banks or to request and access a period of moratorium on loans.

Main sources of information:

• Department for international tax cooperation
• General registry

Restructuring: Kris Beighton – krisbeighton@kpmg.ky