Full banking services are presently provided by branches of several major public banks with established offices in the Islands including CIBC (First Caribbean International Bank), Scotiabank, Royal Bank of Canada, British Caribbean Bank and Bordier. Offshore private banking services are also provided by, among others, Turk and Caicos Banking Company Limited, a privately owned domestic bank.

The Confidential Relationships Ordinance provides complete privacy in business relations and imposes substantial penalties for disclosure in breach of professional or commercial confidence.

Communication facilities, offering immediate and reliable access worldwide, are excellent. Telecommunication services are provided by LIME (Cable & Wireless), Digicel, and Islandcom.  All modern telecommunication services are provided including the latest telephony technology, 3G wireless, high-speed Internet, state-of-the-art telephone systems and equipment.

Travel to and from the Islands is principally by air, and airlift is excellent.  Flights originate from major North American cities including Toronto, New York, Philadelphia, Miami, Charlotte and Atlanta as well as London and arrive at the main international airport on Providenciales (PLS) which boasts an exceptional runway length of 9,200ft or 2,800m.  Regular daily service is provided by American Airlines (JFK,MIA), Delta (CLT), US Air (CLT/PHL), Jet Blue (JFK), Continental Airlines (EWR), Air Canada (YYZ) and Westjet (YYZ).  Other international destinations are served by British Airways (LHR via NAS) and Bahamas Air (NAS).  The domestic airline, Air Turks and Caicos provides frequent inter-island service as well as regular flights to the Bahamas (NAS), the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Jamaica (KIN).  There are also a number of reliable charter operators.

The formation and administration of companies in the Turks and Caicos Islands is governed by the Companies Ordinance, which is rooted in English Common Law.  The Islands’ corporations laws are regularly updated and amended to keep pace with global changes while maintaining the Islands competitive edge as a premier incorporation jurisdiction.

Modern and innovative company law, combined with exceptional speed of incorporation, ease of administration, and reasonable fees have earned the Turks and Caicos Islands a reputation for having the most cost effective company registration system in the world.

Incorporation is rapid and the cost of incorporation and annual maintenance is competitive. Three types of companies may be incorporated: the Non-Exempt Company (or Ordinary Company), the Exempted Company (or IBC) and the Limited Life Company which is an hybrid of the Exempted Company.

The Exempted Company carries on business outside of the islands. It is an ideal vehicle for structuring a wide range of offshore financial planning strategies worldwide. The special features and advantages of the Exempted Company are as follows:

• Name - Immediate clearance available - The words or abbreviations Limited, Ltd, Inc, IBC, S.A, are optional
• Speed of Incorporation - Within 24 hours (one hour in urgent circumstances)
• Directors and Shareholders – No public disclosure of identity required (excepting certain licenced or regulated financial institutions) - Only one director (two in respect of the regulated activities) - May reside anywhere in the world, and may be a corporation
• Capital - May be expressed and subscribed for in any currency - No minimum authorised or paid up capitalisation requirement
• Shares - May be in "bearer" form - A company may purchase redeem or otherwise deal in its own shares - May issue fractional or "no par value" shares while the issue of bearer shares is permitted certain restrictions apply
• Financial Information - Shareholders may waive audit requirement - No requirement to file financial statements (excepting regulated compnaies)i for Insurance and Banking Companies)
• Meetings - No requirement to hold Directors'/Shareholders' or Annul General Meetings within the Islands - May be held by telephone or other electronic means
• Assets - Bank Accounts and other assets may be held anywhere in the world
• Governor's Guarantee- Available to exonerate companies from the Undertaking imposition of future taxes and increased fees for up to 20 years
• Redomiciliation - Companies may be redomiciled to and from the islands (See 'Redomiciliation of Companies')

A special feature of the Islands' company law is the ability to redomicile (also legally referred to as 'continue') companies to and from the Turks and Caicos Islands easily. Taxation changes, instability or political uncertainty in other jurisdictions often result in foreign company redomicilation to the Islands. The advantage of redomicilation are the follows:

• The legal personality of the company remains completely unchanged at law
• The operations of the company, its contractual obligations and benefits and its assets, liabilities and activities are not affected by redomiciliation to the Islands

Trusts

Continental Trust Corporation (TCI) Limited acts as trustee of many private and commercial Turks and Caicos law trusts.  It is licensed by the TCI Financial Services Commission.

TCI trust law is derived directly from ancient and well-tried English equitable legal principles and has a lineage common to many English-speaking jurisdictions.  A trust arises when a settlor transfers legal title to his property to a trustee on terms as to how the property is to benefit the beneficiaries.  As it separates legal title from beneficial ownership, a trust is a flexible business, financial and estate planning arrangement which can be used to achieve a broad range of objectives including wealth preservation, asset protection, income accumulation, property holding and deferred income plans.

Assets of all kinds can be placed in a TCI trust, including bank and investment accounts, real property, stocks and bonds, mutual fund units, limited partnerships interests and shares of private businesses.

Turks & Caicos Islands law of Trusts allows for the protection of trust assets. This means that a settlor and beneficiaries of a Turks & Caicos Islands Trust are free from the threat of asset seizure or freezes, forced heirship laws, confiscatory exchange control restrictions and burdensome regulations that exist in other countries.  Many countries have enacted tax laws which require disclosure of an interest in a TCI trust and your tax advisor can provide complete advice in this regard.

The form of settlement of private wealth most widely used in the Turks & Caicos Islands is the discretionary private trust with wide powers to the trustee or protector to change the governing law of the trust to another jurisdiction. Fixed trusts to distribute either income or capital or both are also frequently created.  Continental Trust Corporation (TCI) Ltd. has experienced trust and estate practitioners on staff that can advise and or assist clients in the drafting of a suitable trust deed to properly meet the needs of any group of beneficiaries.

There is no stamp duty or any other tax levied in Turks & Caicos Islands on income or distributions from a trust and Continental Trust Corporation does not charge any fixed distribution or transaction fees (we charge for time spent only).

Some innovative features of Turks and Caicos trust law are:

• The power to provide for the governing law of the trusts to be changed easily
• The duties of trustees are clearly defined
• A trust may continue indefinitely.
• A trust may direct or authorise the accumulation of income of the trust for an indefinite period.
• Trusts for non-charitable purposes may be established

The Banking Ordinance provides for the regulation of banks and financial institutions by the Financial Secretary. Advantages of establishing banks in the Turks and Caicos Islands include:

• Three tier licensing system: - National Banking - Overseas Banking - Private Banking
• Regulatory requirements and administrative procedures, assessed on case by case basis
• Most economical operational and management costs
• Reasonable establishment and licence fees

The Insurance Ordinance is considered to be one of the most innovative pieces of legislation that provides a flexible regulatory framework within which to conduct insurance business.

The unique feature of the of the law lies in the flexibility of the case by case assessment of risk to the insured by The Superintendent of Insurance.  For example, in situations of pure captive and credit life reinsurance companies where risk to third parties is minimal, no useful purpose would be served by unnecessary and onerous administrative burdens.  On the other hand, where companies are writing third party risks, the law provides for an excellent system of checks and balances to protect insured parties from irregular practices.  Provisions include:

• Adequacy of capital and reserves
• Audited annual accounts
• Fit and proper directors

The advantages of a Turks and Caicos registered insurance company include:

• Regulation tailored to insured's risk analysis
• Absence of onerous and unnecessary administrative and financial burdens
• Regulatory framework affords international recognition
• Most economical operational and management costs
• Low establishment and licence fees

The Turks and Caicos Islands boasts the largest number of credit life reinsurance company registrations of any jurisdiction worldwide. Numerous insurance, captive, mutuals and reinsurance companies are also registered in the jurisdiction.

Trust Companies

Professional trustees are required to be licenced in Turks & Caicos.  The TCI Trustee Licencing Ordinance provides for the licencing of two types of trustees and recognizes the existence of private trust companies which may either be regulated as a licenced restricted private trust company or as a private trust company that does not charge a  fee for acting as Trustee of a wholly private personal family trust

Continental Trust Corporation (TCI) Ltd, is licensed by the TCI Financial Services Commission as an unrestricted licenced professional trustee and so is permitted to act as trustee of any trust