The Cayman Islands government’s Unaudited Quarterly Financial Report for the first quarter of 2026, showed a significant increase in revenues.
Cayman’s public finances tend to look positive in the first quarter of the year, as that is when the government receives income from financial sector fees, while the full extent of the year’s expenditure still hasn’t been realised. That means the best point of comparison for this latest data is to compare with the same period of the previous year.
The total revenue received by government for the period ending 31 March 2026 was $624.9 million, up 13% from the $554.2 million in the same quarter the year before. That revenue figure was also $40.4 million more than projected in the 2026 Original Budget.
The main reason for the increase in total revenues was the jump in coercive revenue to $605.5 million, which was $35.2 million more than budgeted and $71.2 million higher than the same period the previous year.
The bulk of that higher-than-expected coercive revenue came from financial services fees. Mutual Fund Administrators Fees and Private Fund Fees were respectively $9.3 million and $10.0 million higher than in the first quarter of 2025. There were also significant increases in Partnership Fees and Company Fees, which increased by $4.6 million and $7.0 million compared to the previous year.
Another increase in coercive fees came from Cayman’s property market. The decision to increase stamp duty on properties worth $2 million and above to 10% from 7.5% resulted in greater revenue for the government. Cayman collected $33.8 million for Stamp Duty – Land Transfers, which was $7.1 million more than in the first quarter of 2025. The amount raised by Land Holding Companies Share Transfer Charges was $4.3 million higher than over the same timeframe in 2025.
Government spending
On the expenditure side, Cayman’s state bureaucracy continued its expansion. Total operating, financing and non-operating expenses of core government for the three-month period ended 31 March 2026 were $303.1 million – an $11.2 million increase on the previous year.
At this early stage in the year, it’s too soon to make definitive conclusions about government expenditure. Historically Cayman has seen a tendency for budgets to underestimate future expenditure, and governments have had to make exceptional transfers to cover shortfalls.
Yet the early signs from the Statutory Authorities and Government Companies seem positive. The overall performance of the SAGCs was $0.4 million better than in the first quarter of 2025. This is thanks to better-than-expected performances from Cayman Airways, Cayman Islands Airports Authority, Cayman Islands Monetary Authority and Port Authority of the Cayman Islands. However, those positive performances were undermined by struggles at the Water Authority – Cayman.
The fact that revenue growth outstripped spending growth meant that the entire public sector posted a net surplus of $328.1 million, up from $262.2 million in the first quarter of 2025.
Cayman’s debt position has grown over the past year. Cayman had $497.4 million of debt on 31 March 2026, up from $396.8 million on 31 March 2025. But that is offset by an increase in the jurisdiction’s cash reserves. Cayman’s total cash and deposits reached $722.6 million in the first quarter of 2026, up from $614.6 million the year before.
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