Guernsey Financial Services Sector Praised

by Philip Morton, Investors Offshore.com

26 March 2002

A report in the Financial Times on Monday praised the Channel Island jurisdiction of Guernsey for its response to the bouts of international scrutiny to which it has been subject over the past few years.

Recently removed from the OECD blacklist, and awarded almost full marks by the Financial Action Task Force in its anti-money laundering investigation, the jurisdiction has been examined and classified by any number of different international organisations. According to the Financial Times, however, it has weathered the storm remarkably well, and is in possession of standards of regulation which, in somes cases, surpass those of its onshore investigators.

'If onshore jurisdictions would swallow their pride they could learn something from us on the issue of fiduciary regulation,' observed Peter Neville, the Director-General of the Guernsey Financial Services Commission.

The report reveals that despite the recent trials and tribulations faced by the island, there are few there who doubt that Guernsey has a long-term future as a financial centre. Optimism has been bolstered by the announcement that both Barings and Close Brothers have taken long leases on office space in the nearly completed Admiralty Park office, retail, and leisure complex.

According to Guernsey finance experts, the structure of the island's financial sector has also helped it through the recent global economic crisis.

'First of all, it is a very diverse industry here, so when one sector is suffering another is doing well,' Robin Fuller, MD of Rothschild Asset Management, explained to the FT. 'But also many of the island's specialities - insurance, bank deposits and trust management - have not been directly in the firing line when there is an economic downturn.'

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