Friday, March 4, 2016

DUNDEE BANK INSOLVENCY ILLUSTRATES INEFFECTIVENESS OF CAYMAN ISLANDS MONETARY AUTHORITY



Dundee Merchant Bank, incorporated in the Cayman Islands, is a Class  "B" financial institution; this means that it cannot function unless it has a parent that is a full-service bank. When Dundee Corporation sold off its Canadian parent institution, Canadian regulators, having been alerted to that fact, ordered Dundee to cease operations.

Most media resources have been showing Dundee Merchant Bank as "in Liquidation" for a couple of years, but there has neither been an official court liquidation proceeding initiated, nor has Dundee's required posted publication of legal notice ever appeared of record. In plain language, the bank, which ceased operations to the public, is in violation of a score of laws in the Cayman Islands.

Where is the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority in all this ? The CIMA website does not show any liquidation proceedings were ever filed, and to date, one cannot find any evidence that any regulatory investigation, let alone actual proceeding, has been initiated.

When pressed, Dundee Bank's representatives have attempted spin tactics, telling those who inquire that it is being handled by Dundee Corporation, but, in truth and in fact, there is no such liquidation. Reports that the bank is insolvent continue to circulate, but CIMA is nowhere to be found.

Should foreign investors sustain a loss, due to CIMA's  regulatory malpractice, the only choice that compliance officers will have is to raise Country Risk on the Cayman Islands to such levels that capital movement out of Grand Cayman could occur. The leadership, such as it is, at CIMA, should note well the possible consequences of its inaction.   

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