Guernsey Finance Needs To Refocus Says Leading Banker

by Robert Lee, Tax-News.com, London

23 June 2003

A leading banker has urged the Guernsey financial services authorities to capitalise on the Island's competitive advantage over other offshore jurisdictions or risk falling behind in the years ahead.

Speaking at a recent Institute of Directors lunch, Alex Rodger, director of RBS institutional banking and managing director of the bank's securities services group said that the island needed to "refocus and reposition itself" in terms of the products its financial services sector offers, according to a report from the Guernsey Press and Star.

"Taking no action is not an option; the industry needs leadership and a strategy that lies beyond organic growth. From my point of view, when I look at the committees such as Guernsey International Business Association, the Financial Services Commission and Advisory and Finance, no one has really got the future direction on the agenda," Mr Rodger warned the audience. Nevertheless, he applauded the Advisory and Finance Committee's plans to set up an economic policy working group as a step in the right direction, and suggested that it would be a good sounding board for future developments.

The advantages that Guernsey has over Jersey and the Isle of Man should be exploited further, according to the banker. He suggested that this is particularly the case with regard to the captive insurance sector, where the island is the European market leader, and still has much potential for further growth. He also suggested that more effort should go into the marketing of the hedge fund and private equity sectors, as he claimed that they are less sensitive to changes in regulation.

Rodger also lamented the under-promotion of the Channel Islands Stock Exchange which should be marketed more aggressively. "It is something we underplay and it should have a higher profile," he observed.

A comprehensive report on offshore stock exchanges, including details of the regulatory regime in a number of top jurisdictions, is available in the Tax News Reports Shop at http://www.tax-news.com/reportshop 

Recommended