At the second annual Spectrum financial services conference, more than 200 stakeholders from the industry participated in a day of presentations and discussions on key issues affecting the sector.
One of the highlights of the day-long event, held at The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman on 8 Sept., was the presentation on environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) by international expert Ileana Salas, founder and chair of the Climate Governance Initiative, Central America and Caribbean, followed by a panel of experts discussing ESG sustainability issues.
Cayman Islands Premier Wayne Panton and Tourism and Transport Minister Kenneth Bryan both participated with insights from the floor on the topic of environmental and social sustainability.
“This year we really saw the emergence of ESG as a topic that stakeholders in Cayman are not only interested in, but also very passionate about how it should be addressed,” Spectrum founder Paul Byles said in a press release.
“The truth is that ESG has so many aspects to it and its impact cuts across our community in such a diverse manner that it would really take a full day to get through those, and based on the extensive feedback that is something I am looking to do in the near future.”
Salas said of the conference, “It was a true honour to address an audience that demonstrated such interest and passion in sustainability issues relating to financial services.”
Other panel discussions included overseas investment managers Tim Kacani, COO of Atlas Merchant Capital, and John Pridjian, co-founder of Exponential Age Asset Management, and Melissa Lim, partner at Walkers, who gave their perspectives of how investment managers and their clients view the Cayman Islands.
“What I see onshore is that when we become aware of a potential negative global development which may impact the Cayman Islands, we tend to conclude that as a reputable jurisdiction, the Cayman Islands will address that issue fairly quickly,” said Pridjian.
Byles, who moderated the panel, added, “That shows that it’s not just a case of whether an issue may impact us but we have a reputation for being responsive in addressing global regulatory standards.”
Tim Rossiter, past president of the Cayman Islands Fund Administrators Association, presented on the current state of the jurisdiction’s fund administration industry and outlined key challenges and potential solutions. His presentation was followed by a discussion on issues relating to that sector, moderated by Michelle Morgan, CEO and co-founder of Titan Technology Group.
Acting Minister of Financial Services Katherine Ebanks-Wilks spoke about the ministry’s objectives, outlining its commitment to the sector and its plans to craft a medium-term strategy for the entire industry. Minister André Ebanks was off island on international duty dealing with matters relating to Cayman’s anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism framework.
“It was a pleasure to participate at Spectrum on behalf of Minister Ebanks, who was away on official duties. I thought the day was filled with many important discussions and seeing the involvement of such a diverse group of stakeholders across the various sectors, including the regulatory agencies, was very encouraging,” said Ebanks-Wilks.
In addition, senior representatives of the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority, the jurisdiction’s financial services regulator, gave updates on development across the various sectors and engaged in a Q&A session with the audience.
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