Speaking at a presentation to the finance industry and States members on Thursday, John Bridle admitted that: 'The biggest challenge is to remove the description of the island as an offshore tax haven and replace it with offshore financial centre. This is not going to happen overnight.'

He told those attending the presentation that although there were areas in which the Guernsey prmotional and regulatory authorities would be working in tandem with their counterparts in Jersey, due to competition for business between the two Channel Islands there would obviously be times when Guernsey would have to go it alone.

He then went on to stress the importance of the financial sector for the island's economy, pointing out that although under constant international scrutiny, and a great deal of the time undervalued by islanders, the industry is a major contributor to public income: 'It employs about one quarter of the workforce and provides approximately one third of renumeration in the island,' Mr Bridle revealed.

The GPA aims to provide a central point for answering media enquiries, as well as promoting the island's financial sector in a positive way to the international community. A website is reportedly in the pipeline, and will be launched in early 2002.