The Bermuda Monetary Authority has moved to express Bermuda?s interests on a number of global fronts with recent communication with the International Monetary Fund, European regulators and the International Association of Insurance Supervisors.

The authority, which prefers a risk-based regulatory approach for the captive market, has submitted its views to the IAIS regarding its consultative paper ?The Regulation and Supervision of Captive Insurance Companies?.

The paper is intended as a source of reference on the nature of captive insurance and to increase the understanding of its role and relationship to traditional insurance and reinsurance markets. The IAIS believes that supervisory standards for captives should be compatible with international standards. The paper also considers the application of the IAIS insurance Core Principles to captive insurance.

The International Monetary Fund is poised to publish a report later this year on data gathered from all jurisdictions including Bermuda that participated in its Offshore Financial Centre Framework. The initiative was aimed at establishing minimum global standards of transparency for the financial sector.

The BMA has now submitted its aggregate data on Bermuda?s financial sector as part of its agreement to participate in the IMF?s initiative which primarily covers collective investment schemes, insurance companies and banks, the BMA said.

The BMA has also been holding discussions with European regulators regarding its supervisory approach for Bermuda-based investment groups that carry on business within the European Economic Area. The discussions focus on the potential impact of recent legislative and regulatory developments within the European Union particularly the Financial Groups Directive and the Capital Requirements Directive where a third country supervisor is unable to provide equivalent regulation on a consolidated group basis. The BMA is now developing a prudential framework for investment groups to demonstrate equivalence in such cases. It plans to propose specific amendments to its regulatory policies and practices to further refine the approach to consolidated supervision that would apply to such groups.

The Working Group on Customer Due Diligence Procedures is considering practical implementation of risk-based standards for customer identification and account monitoring. Representatives of Bermuda?s banks and deposit companies are considering how far the Bermuda framework should go to clarify specific industry standard criteria for defining higher and lower risk customers and associated enhanced or reduced due diligence requirements, the BMA said.