By Alex Summers From NuWire Investor

A new compulsory valuer registration programme for real estate in the Cayman Islands has been introduced with the aim of providing more confidence in the property market.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) programme sets out to raise confidence in the accuracy and delivery of valuation reporting and advice.

Michael Zuriff, RICS manager of regulation for the Americas said it will provide lenders, asset managers and investors a clearly identifiable designation for the best regulated and qualified professionals.

‘The Valuer Registration Programme is an independent system of regulatory monitoring which reduces the risk of poor quality valuations, and enforces high standards of competence and ethical awareness,’ he explained.

‘Valuer Registration sends a clear message to clients, governments and banks that RICS members welcome open scrutiny and comparison with industry best practice. As an underpinning to important financial transactions, it is in the public interest that confidence in the accuracy of valuation work is upheld,’ he added.

RICS members already perform valuations under RICS Valuation Standards, also known as the ‘Red Book’, which are in compliance with International Valuation Standards (IVS), and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), and in turn, globally recognized by banks, lenders and other major financial institutions.

In an increasingly global business environment, RICS is facilitating greater consistency and transparency within these international valuation standards.

It is a significant milestone for the islands according to Uche Obi, senior valuer with the Cayman Islands Government and board member of RICS Caribbean & Americas.

He explained that in recent years there has been an upswing in reporting standards, with increasingly high levels of transparency, credibility and consistency shown in valuation reports.

‘RICS’ mandatory Valuer Registration Programme will now continue to drive forward the progress made to date, and will put us on the map as being an example of best practice in the Caribbean,’ he added.

The programmeme was conceived by RICS’ leading valuation experts in response to the global financial crisis and first implemented in the UK in 2010. It has since gone mandatory for RICS members performing valuations in the Netherlands, Hong Kong, and the United Arab Emirates.

This article was republished with permission from Property Wire.

For more on this story go to: http://www.nuwireinvestor.com/articles/cayman-islands-introduces-new-property-valuation-program-62010.aspx?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+nuwireinvestor%2Flatestnews+%28NuWire+Investor%3A+Latest+News%29

See also iNews Cayman related story published June 19 2014 “The Valuer Registration programme goes mandatory in the Cayman Islands” at: http://www.ieyenews.com/wordpress/the-valuer-registration-programme-goes-mandatory-in-the-cayman-islands/

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