BMA names Craig Swan CEO, as Jeremy Cox to depart

The Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA), the financial regulator for one of the world’s most important insurance and reinsurance markets, has announced a change at the top, as its current Deputy CEO Craig Swan will take over the CEO role from October 1st, with current CEO and Executive Chairman Jeremy Cox set to depart.

The BMA also said that Deputy Chairman Donald Scott has been appointed by the Minister of Finance of Bermuda to serve as Chairman of the BMA Board from October 1 st as well, as Cox had held the Executive Chairman position as well.

Jeremy Cox has been in charge at the BMA as CEO since 2010 and Executive Chairman since 2019.

During that time, Bermuda has experienced rapid reinsurance industry growth, as well as the significant expansion of its insurance-linked securities (ILS) market, becoming the home to the majority of catastrophe bond transactions and a significant proportion of the world’s collateralised reinsurance activity as well.

A lot of this success has been down to the approach of the regulator, with the BMA seen as an approachable but professional Authority that has encouraged innovation and been open to change, a speedy approach to approvals, while not relinquishing on oversight and discipline.

Cox’s leadership direction at the BMA over recent years has had a significant hand in this success and he will be missed in the role.

In Craig Swan though, the BMA has an experienced new leader that has had plenty of exposure to the important industries of reinsurance and ILS and the BMA would be expected to follow a similar course under his steering.

Swan joined the BMA in 2006 and has held a range of positions covering Insurance, Policy and Risk, more recently at the Managing Director level.

Swan also has extensive experience representing the BMA on a range of international regulatory standard-setting committees and leading the BMA’s insurance regulatory dialogue.

Donald Scott, on behalf of the BMA Board of Directors, commented on the changes, “Over the past decade, Mr. Cox has led the BMA to many notable achievements including full equivalence with Europe’s Solvency II insurance regulatory regime, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) reciprocal and qualifying jurisdiction status and the continued widening of the BMA’s remit into digital assets. In recognition of these accomplishments and his many years of service to the Bermuda financial services industry, Mr. Cox was awarded the 2019 Fred Reiss Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2020, Mr. Cox was awarded the Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the Queen’s Birthday honours.”

Cox added, “It has been an absolute pleasure working for the Authority alongside our highly talented Staff for the past few decades. Indeed, I am grateful to the BMA Staff who, through their dedicated efforts and commitment through the years, have been instrumental in positioning Bermuda as a leading international financial centre. I feel confident that, under Donald Scott’s leadership of the Board as its new Chairman, and Craig Swan’s leadership as CEO, the BMA will continue to rise in driving forward the attainment of its strategic objectives for the benefit of Bermuda.”

Scott further commented on the incoming BMA CEO, “Mr. Swan is a proven leader with excellent regulatory experience, superior executive management skills, clarity and relevance of vision in relation to domestic and global challenges facing the BMA and Bermuda, combined with highly developed relationship management sensitivities including credibility with international bodies.”