CClarien Bank Limited
Three stars: a clean ten-year record, protected deposits and fees published in full.
Why Clarien has three stars
Clarien earns three stars. No final adverse finding against this licence holder in ten years of regulatory and court records. What a family should weigh: no public policy on third-party payments or retrocessions. Still to be confirmed: how the law protects custody assets in this centre and the custody terms. These points carry no weight until they are documented.
Noam Cohen, Editor, Bank IntelligenceReviewed 6 November 2026, Q4 2026 edition. The rating weighs the public record together with what clients and their advisers tell us in confidence; retail products, branches and apps play no part.
Where Clarien stands out
- No final adverse finding against this licence holder in ten years of regulatory and court records.
- Deposits are covered by a statutory protection scheme.
- A broad range of private banking services is published for this booking unit.
- The fee schedule is published in full, so a family can price the relationship before asking.
- No politically exposed person holds a significant stake.
What to weigh
- No public policy on third-party payments or retrocessions.
- Ownership is only partly public.
- How the law here would protect custody assets if the bank failed is not yet documented in this file.
- Custody terms are not published; ask for the agreement before opening an account.
- No published information on a desk for external asset managers.
The rating expresses the opinion of PPLI.com on the date shown. It is not a statement of fact about the bank, not a credit rating, not a forecast of failure and not investment advice.
Regulatory and legal record
What regulators, prosecutors and courts have decided, recorded against the legal entity they named, with the status, the amounts as published and a link to the original document. Claims and investigations still under way are marked as open.
Client experience and financial standing
What clients meet at Clarien, read from complaint registers, ombudsman decisions and court records, independent reporting and what clients and their advisers tell PPLI.com in confidence. Announcements by the bank, awards and marketing material are left out.
What clients report
Under the reorganisation reported in February 2026, the banking business of NCB (Cayman) Ltd. and certain wealth clients of NCB Capital Markets (Cayman) are to move to the bank, subject to regulatory approvals.
Worth raising with the bank
- Ask who controls Clarien Group Limited today, given NCB Financial Group's June 2024 agreement to sell 30.20 percent to Cornerstone Financial Holdings Limited, and whether any change of control is pending.
- Ask whether the transfer of the NCB (Cayman) banking business and wealth clients announced in February 2026 has been approved, and which entity will hold accounts moved from Cayman.
In the press
- Jamaica Gleaner
NCB Financial shifts Cayman banking unit to Bermuda subsidiary
NCB Financial Group was moving its Cayman banking unit to Clarien as an internal reorganisation, after the capital of NCB (Cayman) fell to USD 35.5 million in 2024 from USD 64.2 million in 2023.
- The Royal Gazette
Clarien expands with Cayman acquisitions
The Royal Gazette reported that Clarien would take over the banking business of NCB (Cayman) Ltd. and certain wealth clients of NCB Capital Markets (Cayman), to be rebranded Clarien, subject to regulatory approvals.
- Jamaica Observer
NCB Cayman bank sale terminated
The sale of NCB (Cayman) Limited to Berkeley Financial Holdings Limited was terminated after it did not complete within the agreed time.
- Jamaica Observer
NCB sells stake in Bermuda bank
NCB Financial Group agreed to sell 30.20 percent of Clarien Group Limited, the bank's parent, to Cornerstone Financial Holdings Limited, which would then own about 70.10 percent.
What Clarien charges, compared
Clarien publishes its fees. The figures below are its list prices, read on 6 November 2026 from the document linked at the foot of this section. To compare banks fairly we put every published fee in US dollars at the same indicative rates and apply it to the same reference amounts, then rate each fee against the average of the other banks that publish it. Five stars is the lowest fee, one star the highest. Terms a family actually negotiates are often different, and the bank can change its schedule at any time.
| Fee | Clarien | Other banks | Against the others |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discretionary mandateeffective rate on USD 12.5 million, balanced profile | 1.00% a year Source | 1.24% a yearaverage of 25 other banks | below the average |
| Equity tradecommission on a USD 250,000 trade, major exchange | 0.20% Source | 0.82%average of 47 other banks | among the lowest |
| Bond tradecommission on a USD 500,000 trade | 0.10% Source | 0.96%average of 42 other banks | among the lowest |
| Third party fund subscriptionfee on a USD 250,000 subscription | 0.6 basis points Source | 1.41%average of 42 other banks | among the lowest |
| Currency conversionmargin on a USD 1 million spot conversion | 0.6 basis points Source | 0.74%average of 30 other banks | among the lowest |
| Account maintenanceper year | USD 144 a yearBMD 12 per month Source | USD 1,318 a yearaverage of 26 other banks | among the lowest |
| Outgoing international transferper transfer, standard | USD 140BMD 140 Source | USD 56average of 61 other banks | among the most expensive |
| Closing the accountone off | USD 250 Source | USD 734average of 21 other banks | among the lowest |
| Lombard loan marginmargin over the reference rate | reference rate + 2.50% Source | Too few banks publish this to compare |
Not in the published schedule: custody and safekeeping, advisory mandate, minimum annual fee, transfer of securities to another bank.
Sources.
- Bank Account Fees - Clarien Bank, Effective 8 November 2024 (credit interest line as of December 1, 2025; notice effective 25 March 2026), read on 6 November 2026
How the comparison works: USD 25 million booked with the bank: half under a discretionary balanced mandate, half in custody with advice; 24 equity trades of USD 250,000 and 8 bond trades of USD 500,000 a year; 6 currency conversions of USD 1 million; 24 outgoing international transfers. Tiered fees are applied to those amounts tranche by tranche, stated minimums are applied, and amounts are converted at indicative rates of 2026-11-06. Read how we compare fees.
Identity, protection and services
Legal identity
Ownership
Ownership is shown as published, with its date. It describes who owns the bank; it does not, by itself, suggest any wrongdoing by the bank or its owners.
Financial strength, as reported
Figures for Clarien Bank Limited (consolidated). Sources: Clarien Bank Limited Pillar 3 Disclosures, six months ended 31 March 2026; Clarien Bank Limited Pillar 3 Disclosures, 30 September 2025.
Services published for this booking unit
Offered at this booking centreOffered by the group, not confirmed hereNot located, which does not mean unavailable
Checked on the bank's own pages, 2 November 2026.
Access and costs
Protection of client assets
Before opening an account
- Custody agreement. Ask for the agreement covering the account you would open. Which entity holds the securities, what law governs the account, and where would the assets be held if a sub-custodian is used?
- A portfolio-backed credit line. If you intend to borrow against the portfolio, ask for the eligibility and haircut schedule, the margin-call timetable and the charges for holding or transferring pledged securities.
- Currency conversion. The fee comparison shows 0.6 basis points for the reference FX transaction. Ask for the spread on your usual currency pairs and trade sizes, with the benchmark rate named in the quote. See published fees.
Rate Clarien
If you bank with Clarien or advise clients who do, your experience forms part of its PPLI.com rating. Every response is read by the editor and treated in strict confidence.
Sources
All 15 documents cited on this page, by subject.
Client experience and press
- Jamaica Gleaner: NCB Financial shifts Cayman banking unit to Bermuda subsidiary, 4 February 2026jamaica-gleaner.com
- The Royal Gazette: Clarien expands with Cayman acquisitions, 3 February 2026royalgazette.com
- Jamaica Observer: NCB Cayman bank sale terminated, 15 January 2025jamaicaobserver.com
- Jamaica Observer: NCB sells stake in Bermuda bank, 14 June 2024jamaicaobserver.com
Fees
- Clarien: Bank account feesclarienbank.com · Fees
Identity, ownership, finances and services
- Clarien: Terms and conditionsclarienbank.com · Licence
- Clarienclarienbank.com · Owner
- past.jamaica-gleaner.com: Lee chin declares commitment ncb ownershippast.jamaica-gleaner.com · Holder of 10% or more
- Clarien Bank Limited Pillar 3 Disclosures, six months ended 31 March 2026clarienbank.com · Financial strength
- Clarien Bank Limited Pillar 3 Disclosures, 30 September 2025clarienbank.com · Financial strength
- Clarien: Private bankingclarienbank.com · Services
- Clarien: Investment managementclarienbank.com · Services
- Clarien: Residential mortgagesclarienbank.com · Services
- Clarien: Trust estate servicesclarienbank.com · Services
The bank
- Clarien, websiteclarienbank.com
For Clarien
Before we publish a significant negative finding that is not already public, we give the bank the facts and time to comment, on the same timetable for every bank. Decisions of regulators and courts are shown as they were published. Corrections we verify are published with the date of the change. Write to [email protected] quoting reference BK-BM-CLARIEN-BDF748.
Reviewing this file with us
Families and their advisers read this file before they open an account. It can only be as complete as the documents we can find, and much of what sets a private bank apart, from its custody terms to the way a client team works, is rarely published.
If you represent Clarien, one of our Bank Intelligence analysts can go through the file with you: correct anything that is out of date, add terms and documents that are not yet public, and set out what has improved since our last edition. The review is a paid engagement for the analyst's time and research.
The rating itself stays with our editor and follows what the documents show, so we cannot promise a particular result. When a review changes the file, this page notes that the bank took part, with the date and what was added.
About this file
Researched by the PPLI.com research desk from the public sources listed. The rating is our editorial opinion; read how we rate.