Bermuda’s financial services regulator has responded to a fast-changing market by growing its staff and adding a wide range of specialists.

Craig Swan, the chief executive of the Bermuda Monetary Authority, told delegates at the Bermuda International Life and Annuity Conference this week that the build-up of expertise included 50 actuaries on staff at the BMA.

The BMA’s total headcount as of the 2025 annual report was 343 full-time employees.

Speaking with Suzanne Williams, the CEO of conference host Bermuda International Long-Term Insurers and Reinsurers, Mr Swan described how the BMA had upgraded its technology, expertise and thinking.

Ms Williams referenced the history of scrutiny from global standard-setters and international regulators, noting the early moves by Biltir to advocate globally as a relevant organisation.

She opened the door for the top regulator to address the structural shifts and significant regulatory focus and how the BMA responded to address the new complexity.

Mr Swan agreed that in the world of big data, the BMA had to change: “Even though the objectives of supervision and regulation hadn't changed, the BMA didn’t believe that the older forms of regulation and supervision could effectively work.”

He said the regulatory framework was enhanced, governance was strengthened, as were valuations, capital requirements and liquidity. They also implemented asset approval of affiliated assets.

“We did quite a lot in order to address this,” Mr Swan said. “Another thing we did, in conjunction with block approvals, is we proactively engaged more with overseas regulators, because we believed that it's important to get an end-to-end view of the risk.”

When overseas regulators express concern over a transaction, the BMA is prepared to step back.

“In conjunction with the upgrades and the regulatory framework, we’ve upskilled our existing staff,” he added.

“We brought in a number of specialists — model specialists, asset specialists, risk management specialists, more actuaries. At the moment, the BMA has about 50 actuaries on staff, in order to drive this plane.”

Mr Swan said that while no jurisdiction can be all things to all people, Bermuda had to define the type of businesses it wanted — companies not just profit-driven, but those taking a long-term view, those with a high regard for policyholder protection.

He said it also meant defining strong regulation, “sufficiently robust” but including policyholder protection, even if it means some companies go elsewhere. Strong regulation can be a competitive advantage, he agreed.

“We may have lost a few, but for the most part, what we see is companies that may not have chosen Bermuda in the past, are actually coming,” Mr Swan said.

“And so, between 2023 and 2025, total assets in the market have grown by approximately 30 per cent.”

The Bermuda market and its long-term sector are known for innovation, which led to the question: “How does the BMA create a space for innovation with policyholder protection at the forefront?”

Mr Swan said innovation would be required to address the world’s protection gaps, so clarity in the regulatory framework that allows regulators to lean into change and appreciate new business models is important.

The CEO also stressed regulatory credibility was more important than ever because foreign regulators must have confidence they can rely on their Bermuda counterparts.

“It's more important now than ever,” he said, “because as cross-border arrangements become more complex, regulators have to work more closely together. And really, that's only going to be effective if there's comfort, confidence, and credibility.”