Walkers Corporate (Bermuda) Ltd has joined the Bermuda Stock Exchange as a listing sponsor.

Ariane West, a partner in the corporate and finance practice at Taylors, the Bermudian law firm which operates in association with international firm Walkers, received a tombstone plaque from Greg Wojciechowski, chief executive officer of the BSX, to mark the occasion.

Among the type of listings the firm expects to attract are insurance-linked securities, including catastrophe bonds, and debt securities, Ms West said.

Walkers has a presence in many offshore financial centres, including the British Virgin Islands, Cayman, Dubai Guernsey, Hong Kong, Ireland, Jersey and Singapore, as well an office in London. And that global reach will benefit the island, Ms West said.

“Taylors, through its association with Walkers, will be able to raise Bermuda’s profile as a jurisdiction,” Ms West said. “When clients of the Walkers group are considering a jurisdiction in which to list, they will now have a Bermuda option to consider.

“Bermuda’s competitive edge is that it has a business community with first-class service providers at the leading edge, focused on innovation, as well as internationally recognised regulation and speed to market.”

Mr Wojciechowski said a listing sponsor did several beneficial things, chief among them bringing business to the BSX and to the island.

“We’re a small country and a small exchange and it’s not easy to be everywhere to talk about the benefits of Bermuda,” Mr Wojciechowski said.

“Walkers has carved out a business strategy for listing services. They understand which of their clients could benefit from what the exchange has to offer.

“Through having the BSX as a listing option for the first time, Walkers’ clients around the world will become aware of Bermuda’s advantages.”

Walkers Corporate (Bermuda) Ltd is the BSX’s 18th listing sponsor.