with ending NAV of US$21.8 trillion in Europe. But the greater appeal of offshore jurisdictions to form mutual funds is usually in the regulatory considerations. As offshore jurisdictions do not tend to cater to small retail investors, they tend to impose fewer if any restrictions on what investment strategy the mutual funds may pursue and no limitations on the amount of leverage which mutual funds can employ in their investment strategy. Many offshore jurisdictions (Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands and Guernsey) allow promoters to incorporate segregated portfolio companies (or SPCs) for use as mutual funds; the complexity of incorporating a similar corporate vehicle onshore alongside other onshore company regimes has resulted in sophisticated investor clients preferring the simplicity of offshore incorporated funds. Banking Traditionally, a number of offshore jurisdictions offered banking licences to institutions with relatively little scrutiny. International initiatives have largely stopped this practice, and very few offshore financial centres will now issue licences to offshore banks that do not already hold a banking licence in a major onshore jurisdiction. The most recent reliable figures for offshore banks indicates that the Cayman Islands has 285 licensed banks, the Bahamas has 301. By contrast, the British Virgin Islands only has seven licensed banks, most of which are retail banks serving the local and regional markets. See also Corporate tax haven Financial centre Ireland as a tax haven Market manipulation Panama Papers Pandora Papers Paradise Papers Tax haven United States as a tax haven Explanatory notes References Further reading External links Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes, OECD The Economist survey on offshore financial centres IMF's 2000 report on OFCs Lax Little Islands by David Cay Johnston, The Nation, May 13, 2009 Tax Justice Network Oxfam Corporate Tax Avoidance Portal Widen tax haven loophole report • Jun 12, 2013 • US Corporations Corporate tax avoidance Foreign direct investment Global issues International taxation Offshore companies Special economic zones Tax avoidance Tax evasion Taxation-related lists