Bermuda Monetary Authority 2026 Business Plan: Overview & Expertise – Banking
Bermuda is not considered an international banking center and only banks licensed by the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) under the Banks and Deposit Companies Act 1999 (BDCA) are entitled to undertake banking businesses in or from Bermuda. As banking is defined as deposit taking (as opposed to lending), international banks are generally able to lend to Bermuda-based borrowers subject to applicable restrictions relating to carrying on business in Bermuda.
Bermuda Monetary Authority 2026 Business Plan: Overview & Expertise – Insurance Captives
Bermuda is one of the leading captive insurance markets in the world with over 600 registered captive insurers writing an impressive ~$30 billion of annual gross written premiums.
Bermuda Monetary Authority 2026 Business Plan: Overview & Expertise – General Corporate
The Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA), an independent body that has been in existence since 1969, is an integrated regulator and supervisor responsible for the licensing, supervision and regulation of financial institutions in Bermuda. The BMA’s mandate includes entities conducting insurance, deposit taking, investment and trust business. The BMA conducts risk-based supervision and enforcement, including enforcing anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing standards. The BMA sets prudential rules, issues codes of conduct and devises industry guidance to ensure the jurisdiction adheres to international standards.
Bermuda Monetary Authority 2026 Business Plan: Overview & Expertise – Insurance
The Bermuda Monetary Authority’s (BMA) 2026 Business Plan (Plan) outlines continued strengthening of Bermuda’s position as a leading global insurance and reinsurance jurisdiction.
Bermuda Monetary Authority 2026 Business Plan: Overview & Expertise – FinTech
By any serious measure, Bermuda’s FinTech strategy for 2026 is not incremental. It is deliberate. It is disciplined. And it is designed to position Bermuda not as a follower in digital finance — but as a standard-setter.
Bermuda Monetary Authority 2026 Business Plan: Overview & Expertise – Regulatory
Bermuda operates a highly integrated regulatory architecture under which the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) exercises consolidated oversight across insurance, banking, investment business and funds, trusts, corporate service providers, money services and digital asset activity. While the statutory framework has long been risk-based, the previous five years marks a clear evolution in supervisory practices. The BMA moved decisively beyond technical compliance and periodic reporting toward an emphasis on supervisory judgement, governance outcomes and system-wide resilience.
Bermuda: A Dispute Resolution Overview
Bermuda continues to be an established offshore disputes jurisdiction, supported by a specialist commercial court and the increasing use of arbitration to resolve complex commercial and private wealth disputes.
Preparing for and Managing a CIMA Onsite Inspection
The Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) is empowered, under the Monetary Authority Act and certain other regulatory laws, to inspect regulated financial service providers (FSP) in the Cayman Islands such as banks, trust companies, administrators, investment managers and virtual asset service providers for compliance with applicable regulatory frameworks. CIMA routinely conducts onsite inspections of such regulated entities – which can be full-scope (involving a review of all areas of a regulated entity's business operations) or thematically focused on specific areas such as corporate governance and/or internal controls, policies and procedures pertaining to AML/CFT/CPF. With the breadth and number of onsite inspections carried out by CIMA having increased through 2024 and 2025 we consider, in this briefing: (i) the CIMA onsite inspection process; (ii) the latest feedback available from CIMA in respect of inspections conducted to date; and (iii) some frequently asked questions in relation to CIMA onsite inspections.
In Peakwave Investment Management Ltd v Energy Evolution GP Ltd [link],[1] the Grand Court confirmed that it has jurisdiction to appoint provisional liquidators notwithstanding the fact that the company’s shareholders are engaged in an arbitration over its affairs, as mandated by a binding arbitration agreement. This article considers the decision and its implications.
Employee access limits under Pipa
The Personal Information Protection Act 2016 has been in effect for more than a year now, and employers in Bermuda are now fielding requests from their employees to access and review their employment records — all of them.
The Financial Services Division of the Grand Court’s judgment in In the matter of A v B & C (FSD 270 of 2025) provides a timely reminder of the proper boundaries between national courts and international arbitration tribunals in respect of the grant of interim relief. The decision underscores the Cayman Islands' commitment to the principle of limited curial intervention and confirms that the Court’s powers under section 54 of the Arbitration Act 2012 are ancillary to the arbitral process and are only to be exercised when the tribunal cannot provide effective relief itself. The judgment helpfully sets out clear parameters for those seeking ancillary relief and highlights that the Cayman courts will support arbitration proceedings without supplanting them.
Be ready for regulatory filing dates. In our 2026 calendar we list the key regulatory and corporate filing dates applicable to British Virgin Islands entities on filing and other obligations. The dates listed are those provided by British Virgin Islands regulatory authorities. For further information on any of the upcoming deadlines covered by the calendar, please contact the related contact(s) on this page.
