Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) has become a full member of the International Organisation Securities Commission (Iosco). Membership was confirmed at IOSCO's annual conference in Tel Aviv.

The Cayman Islands has agreed the Iosco multilateral memorandum of understanding on consultation, co-operation and exchange of information (MMOU). This is a benchmark among security regulators.

CIMA now has 15 bi-lateral memoranda of understanding with a number of major regulators, including the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the UK Financial Services Authority.

Membership of Iosco should remove remaining barriers in some jurisdictions to the use of Cayman Islands entities where the regulatory regime permits only investors and/or counterparties to engage with vehicles that are regulated in an Iosco member jurisdiction.

The deal should also pave the way for Cayman Islands funds to invest into many more jurisdictions.

Iosco membership acknowledges that the Cayman Islands' regulatory system meets international standards, according to Charles Jennings at Maples and Calder in the Cayman Islands.

The Cayman Islands government is in detailed negotiations with a number of OECD members to conclude bilateral agreements before the end of July. This would then move Cayman onto the 'white' list of countries and remove the accusation of the territory being a tax haven.

The OECD is currently reviewing what it calls the Cayman Islands's 'innovative' unilateral mechanism for exchange of tax information. If this is approved it would initially add 10 jurisdictions to the list of countries with which the Cayman Islands has agreed to exchange information on tax matters.