The IMF has announced that "the distinction between OFCs and other financially active jurisdictions has been blurred by globalisation."

As a result, the IMF has combined its assessment programs for OFCs and its broader FSAP program.

Instead of creating and maintaining what the IMF describes as "a potentially discriminatory list of OFC jurisdictions," assessments can soundly focus on how robust are regulatory standards and enforcement.

Jacob Rigg, a spokesman for the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP), commented:

"The IMF has announced that it will not continue to separate assessment programs for what it terms ‘offshore financial centres’ and so-called ‘onshore’ centres. STEP supports the recognition by the IMF that the arbitrary onshore/offshore divide should come to an end. STEP has long held that the use of the arbitrary term ‘offshore’ is wrong because it stigmatizes jurisdictions based on their geographic size or location. Instead any assessment of financial centres should be unequivocally based on a uniform assessment of risks to global financial stability, money laundering and fraud."

He added that:

"Adopting a unified approach would blunt concerns that jurisdictions are being unduly targeted, while also underscoring the expectation that all IFCs should meet commonly agreed international standards."

The announcement is particularly timely, coinciding with the announcement of an EU white list of countries that are deemed to be equivalent to EU money laundering laws and the ongoing Treasury Select Committee on ‘Offshore Finance Centres’.

Many finance centres were angry that they had not been included on the white list despite having received better anti-money laundering reviews from the Financial Action Task Force than many EU member states.