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License · Trust companies, fund managers, captives

Trusts, funds and insurance

Fiduciary, fund and insurance licences in the main wealth centres.

4Jurisdictions compared
USD 250kLowest statutory minimum (not the real requirement)
0Regimes with a passport

Compare

Statutory minimum capital, side by side.

The legal floor in each jurisdiction. It is a starting point for comparison, not a budget: the regulator sets the capital your bank will actually need.

  1. British Virgin IslandsTrust licence (Class I, II, III and restricted classes)
    USD 250kUSD 250,000
  2. Cayman IslandsTrust licence (unrestricted and restricted)
    USD 488kKYD 400,000

Not charted (no statutory figure, or currency without a reference rate): Bahamas, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands. See each jurisdiction page.

Statutory minimums from each regulator. Converted at ECB reference rates or official pegs of 2026-10-08. Log scale. These are legal minimums only: the regulator sets the capital each bank must actually hold, usually far higher, and it must be the shareholders’ own liquid funds.

The path

From plan to licence.

The usual sequence for this licence. Each regulator’s own process and timeline are on its jurisdiction page.

  1. Structure

    Trust company, fund manager or administrator, or captive insurer, and the investors or clients served.

  2. Jurisdiction

    Established wealth and fund centres such as Luxembourg, Ireland, Jersey, Guernsey, Cayman, Switzerland.

  3. Application

    Business plan, substance, governance, AML and fiduciary policies.

  4. Approval

    Fit and proper review, then ongoing supervision.

What the regulator will ask for

The application file.

  1. 01Business plan and substance
  2. 02Governance and key persons
  3. 03AML/CFT framework
  4. 04Fiduciary or investment policies
  5. 05Fit-and-proper documents

Before you apply

Watch, then read.

Regulation guide · 9 min

Trust companies, fund regimes and private banking licences

How trust company, fund administrator, fund manager and private banking licences work in Jersey, Singapore, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Ireland and Cayman.

Explainer · 9 min

Governance and fit and proper requirements

How bank boards, the three lines of defence and key function holders are organised, how fit and proper assessments work, and what regulators mean by substance.

Next step

Get a licensing plan for your case.

Tell us the activities, markets and capital you have in mind. We reply with the jurisdictions that fit and what each regulator will expect.

Request a licensing planCompare all jurisdictions