Conyers: Luthi drives Caribbean cohesion

Conyers chairman Christian Luthi talks to Dominic Carman about the firm’s commitment to the Caribbean and a renewed focus on Dubai and London

How would you describe the past year?

The Bermuda market tends to follow the US market – a rule of thumb, in my experience over the last 35 years. Our activity levels are dictated more by the US markets. But we don’t close our eyes to Europe: our insurance market is very Europe and UK-oriented, and insurance makes up the lion’s share of the offshore product in Bermuda. Insurance markets generally had a reasonably good year; the insurance product in Bermuda remains extremely vibrant, which buoys up Bermuda’s international business proposition.

Last year was difficult across all capital markets, because of Ukraine and economic slowdowns. We were pleasantly surprised by the uptick at the end of our financial year, the beginning of 2023. It’s continued: our busyness levels have remained high, particularly in Bermuda – from April-June, we exceeded budget. It is encouraging. I’ve done this long enough to know that one quarter does not a year make, but it’s good to see. There’s cautious optimism in terms of professional services on the island. There are looming regulatory and global tax issues around the corner, but the prognosis is good and, from an international business perspective, Bermuda as a jurisdiction remains very sound.