Outlook for 2010

Over the past two years we have witnessed perhaps the most challenging economic circumstances seen in our lifetimes. 2009 saw some stability in global markets, with consumer confidence starting to return, and stock markets beginning their road to recovery, however fragile it might turn out to be.

The Cayman National Group was established thirty five years ago, and its strategy throughout has remained rooted in the traditional banking concepts of a conservative and risk-averse approach, with a strong focus on customer service. This approach has served the Group well – we have had no exposure to ‘sub prime’ lending, no exceptional loan provisioning, and no need to seek Government support.

Indeed, despite the global economic situation, we are pleased to report solid progress in our activities. Our banking services have continued to expand, evidenced by continued growth in deposits which have risen around 22% over the year. We are encouraged by the stability of our deposit base and are grateful for the continued confidence shown in our Group by all our customers.

Our fiduciary services division has made further excellent progress over the past twelve months, and has greatly increased its contribution to overall performance. We acquired a book of business from a competitor during the year, and are working well in the integration of these clients into our business. We are pleased to welcome them all, and are confident they will receive an excellent service from us. We enhanced our fiduciary team during the year, and deepened our service capability. We are extremely well placed to thrive as new opportunities emerge in global markets.

The hedge fund community suffered enormously late in 2008 from the global liquidity squeeze. Many funds saw falls in their assets under management, whilst others were closed. We are delighted that, in such a hostile environment, our fund administration business managed to grow its gross revenues by around 10% and again we thank our fund customers for their continued custom.

Although global economies remain weak, we look to the future with growing confidence. The Isle of Man is well positioned to thrive as a leading international centre. Cayman National’s Isle of Man activities, which in 2010 will celebrates their twenty-fifth anniversary, are equally well placed to serve our customers with our growing range of international financial services.

We take this opportunity to wish all our friends, customers and contacts a very merry Christmas and best wishes for a safe and prosperous New Year!

Ian Bancroft
Managing Director
for Cayman National Bank & Trust Company (Isle of Man) Limited

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